London’s Washington wish-list

By David Cronin

Date: 30/06/05

The UK's wish-list for the EU's justice and home affairs agenda over the coming six months appears so closely linked to the fight against terrorism that it could have been written by the White House.

For example, the UK has undertaken to iron out many of the difficulties with plans to make it compulsory for telecommunications firms to retain details of all phone calls made and emails and faxes sent by their customers.

George W. Bush, the American president, originally urged the EU to set up such a data retention scheme after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Britain has since been one of a coterie of EU countries leading efforts for it to be established. Yet a broad coalition of interests have expressed doubts about whether it would actually make much difference in tracking down violent subversives. Police representatives believe it would be unwieldy; phone and internet companies estimate its cost would be prohibitive; and civil rights groups regard it as tantamount to mass espionage.

Similarly, the UK has pledged to advance work on improving the security of EU travel documents. Again, this issue is hard to separate from the controversial demand by the US that countries belonging to its visa-waiver programme must have biometric indicators like finger-prints or facial scans on their passports by October this year. With most of the 15 member states in the 'old' EU showing signs they could not comply with that deadline, the Americans have extended it for a further 12 months. But they still seem determined to keep the biometrics issue on the transatlantic agenda.

A vital challenge for British efforts on implementing the Hague programme on closer legal co-operation between EU member states relates to the so-called European evidence warrant (EEW). Officially, EU governments are committed to approving the EEW by the end of this year.

Now that the European arrest warrant system is up and running - and has demonstrably speeded up extradition proceedings in the Union - the evidence warrant is the next piece to be slotted into the jigsaw of EU police and judicial co-operation.

Under a proposal by the European Commission, a judicial authority (not necessarily a judge) in one member state may issue a warrant requiring an authority in another to hand over "objects, documents and data" for use in a criminal proceeding. Supporters of the EEW have argued it is essential to boost the fight against terrorism but the EU executive intends it to be used for a range of other offences, including racism, environmental pollution and computer-related crime.

Charles Clarke, the British home secretary, has also expressed a desire to secure an EU-wide agreement on protecting critical services like food, water and energy supplies, as well as banks and other financial institutions, should they be the target of a terrorist attack.

In addition, he has sketched out plans to sign agreements with China, Russia, Ukraine and Morocco so that they take back migrants who enter the Union without authorisation.

Although human rights groups will examine such accords with a critical eye, Clarke has argued that the countries could be rewarded with "strong and stable" ties with the EU.

Author suggests that the UK's wish-list for the EU's Justice and Home Affairs agenda over the six months of the country's Presidency of the Council, July - December 2005, appears so closely linked to the fight against terrorism that it could have been written by the White House.

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