We need deal with the EU to combat terror, experts tell Theresa May

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Series Details 27.05.17
Publication Date 27/05/2017
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In the context of the EU referendum held in June 2016 in the United Kingdom and the consequent preparation of the UK to leave, representatives from European law enforcement and the intelligence and security communities had emphasised the importance of EU wide cooperation in tackling security threats, through the sharing of information and data, participation in agencies, and a coordinated strategy.

This issue was re-emphasied following the terrorist attack in Manchester on the 22 May 2017 and London Bridge on the 3 June 2017.

The Guardian reported on the 27 May 2017 that Dominic Grieve, the Conservative MP and chair of the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee, had stressed that it was essential that the UK maintained its full membership and participation in the work of Europol, the EU’s criminal intelligence agency, as part of its anti-terrorism activities.

He said: 'Although our partnership with the US for intelligence sharing is extremely important, the fact is that the current terrorist threat is very much a European dimension issue. The Schengen database and knowing about who has moved where are all intimately dependent on European systems and we have got to try to remain in them'.

There were similar calls from Sir Hugh Orde, former chief constable of the police service of Northern Ireland and former head of Europol Max-Peter Ratzel.

A Conservative Party spokesman said that 'we've made clear that under Theresa May security cooperation will be an important priority in the negotiations, and it's not in the EU's interest to lessen that relationship'.

Some commentators suggested that while the EU and the UK wanted police cooperation to continue, there were significant legal and political complexities which meant that nothing could be guaranteed.

During the referendum campaign in 2016 the United Kingdom government (at the time under Prime Minister David Cameron and with Theresa May as Home Secretary) had issued a document which showed how the EU cooperated with the EU and other member states to strengthen security and to tackle crime and terrorism document.

Source Link Link to Main Source https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/27/eu-theresa-may-combat-terror-brexit-europol
Related Links
ESO: Background information: Manchester Arena attack: 22 dead and 59 hurt, May 2017 http://www.europeansources.info/record/manchester-arena-attack-22-dead-and-59-hurt/
United Kingdom: House of Lords: Library: Library Note LLN 2016/51 (13.10.16): Leaving the European Union: Foreign and Security Policy Cooperation http://www.europeansources.info/record/leaving-the-european-union-foreign-and-security-policy-cooperation/
ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/
ESO: Key source: Terrorism in Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/terrorism-in-europe/
ESO: Background information: Brexit: implications for national security (UK: House of Commons: Library: Briefing Paper No.7798 (09.04.17)) http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-implications-for-national-security/
UK: Parliament: Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) http://isc.independent.gov.uk/
EP: EPRS: In-Depth Analysis, May 2017: European information systems in the area of justice and home affairs: An overview http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-information-systems-in-the-area-of-justice-and-home-affairs-an-overview/
BBC News, 29.05.17: General election 2017: Lib Dems warn over crime database access http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40080759
BBC News, 29.05.17: Amber Rudd to Angela Merkel: You can depend on the UK http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40082599
The Guardian, 29.05.17: Will the UK lose access to EU's crime-fighting database after Brexit? https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/29/will-uk-lose-access-eu-crime-fighting-database-brexit
ESO: Background information: Brexit: future UK-EU security and police cooperation (UK: House of Lords: Select Committee on the European Union: 7th Report (2016-17)) http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-future-uk-eu-security-and-police-cooperation/
ESO: Background information: Bringing the Panopticon Home: the UK joins the Schengen Information System (EU Law Analysis, May 2015) http://www.europeansources.info/record/bringing-the-panopticon-home-the-uk-joins-the-schengen-information-system/
In Facts, 05.06.17: Terror attacks make EU cooperation all the more important https://infacts.org/6-ways-europe-helps-us-fight-terrorism/

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