| Author (Person) | Carstens, Karen |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.10, 18.3.04 |
| Publication Date | 18/03/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Karen Carstens Date: 18/03/04 AUSTRIAN Interior Minister Ernst Strasser has warned that only a 'European CIA' modelled on the US Central Intelligence Agency would help the EU uncover potential terror threats. Speaking exclusively to European Voice, Strasser unveiled his ambitious plan for an EU secret service, which he will present to the extraordinary meeting of interior ministers on Friday (19 March). "We need a comprehensive early-warning system to give us an accurate picture of the current situation on the one hand, and to uncover all the potential threats on the other," he said. "First, we must utilize the structures we already have at our disposal, like Europol," he suggested, adding that the European police office could serve as a basis for the "rapid development" of an aggressive new anti-terror strategy. "Of course, a European secret service is what we should have in place by the end of this process," he said. Strasser's 'CIA' proposal originally got a cool reception from his counterparts in February, when it was first aired, with Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell saying it was not a priority for the current EU presidency. But last week's Madrid train bombings could breathe new life into the Austrian initiative, with EU leaders admitting the need to improve intelligence-sharing between their secret services. The exchange of sensitive information has so far been disappointing, despite pledges made by EU leaders in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the US. Tensions over a lack of cooperation between secret services have already emerged in the aftermath of the Madrid attacks. German Interior Minister Otto Schily said the outgoing Spanish government was slow to inform Berlin about the possible involvement of al-Qaeda because of its initial insistence that Basque separatist group ETA was to blame. The extraordinary meeting of interior ministers has been called by the Irish presidency at Schily's request. But Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder, the French and German leaders, said after bilateral talks in Paris on Tuesday that the European CIA initiative was "premature" at this stage. Strasser, however, said he was confident that comments made in recent days by the leaders of several member states' governments - notably Guy Verhofstadt - indicate a widespread softening of such reservations. The Belgian premier has also proposed the creation of a European bureau via which national security service officials could exchange information and draw up security analyses. This would be the first step towards a European intelligence and security service, he said. Strasser stressed that while "bringing together information from the different member states" remains a priority, "what we need is a higher quality [pan-European] system". The idea was not to do away with the institutions working on terrorism now, he added, but to fine-tune their functions so they can work effectively with a central intelligence agency when it is established. Strasser said his call for a European CIA has also found a supporter in Dutch Interior Minister Johan Remkes, who visited Vienna just before the Madrid attacks. His plan would also figure high on the agenda of the first informal ministerial meeting Remkes is due to host in July, after the Dutch takeover of the rotating EU presidency on 1 July. Interview with Austria's Interior Minister, Ernst Strasser, in which he argues the case for a European Union secret service modelled on the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs, Politics and International Relations, Security and Defence |
