Officials from the United States and European Union are making progress on keeping data flowing across the Atlantic, with negotiations that are important to companies like Facebook Inc and thousands of others, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The two parties aim to avoid a disruption of company data transfers by resolving a long-running conflict between strict EU privacy laws and U.S. surveillance measures through talks that will continue next week in Brussels after a round in the U.S. this summer, according to the report.

A U.S. delegation will meet with EU officials with the objective of nearing an agreement on conditions to let firms carry on with storing and accessing personal information about Europeans on U.S. soil, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The office of the United States Trade Representative and EU did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

  - Reuters