Vice President Joe Biden appeared before the European Parliament on Thursday to urge passage of a measure that would grant US customs officials access to European passenger data. Biden said the measure was needed to help find terror suspects.

Vice President Joe Biden: “It is vital that we maintain every capacity we have under the law to stop such attacks. And for that reason, we believe that the terrorist finance tracking program is essential to our security, as well as to yours, presumptive me to say. It has provided critical leads to counterterrorism investigations on both sides of the Atlantic, disrupting plots, and ultimately saving lives.’’

Biden’s speech came one day after European lawmakers postponed a vote on the measure to ensure stronger privacy safeguards. The US also wants the European Union to reverse its decision to end a controversial data-sharing program that’s allowed the US to monitor millions of international financial transactions.