Counter-terrorism and organised crime – why Europe counts

By Claude Moraes MEP

Germany’s Angela Merkel has recently made clear her views on the inevitability of a terrorist attack in Germany. Her remarks come in the run up to the festive season, a time when most countries with existing terrorist threats traditionally become more cautious.

On this issue, police and intelligence cooperation through agencies like Europol is important. The effective use of instruments like the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), which successfully saw London bombing suspect Hussain Osman charged in the UK after he fled to Italy, is crucial. The EAW does need serious review for many of its failings, but the example of Hussain Osman shows how EU judicial cooperation can be effective in tackling terrorism.

It is concerning, however, to see those international issues even Eurosceptics want to see tackled – people trafficking, drug trafficking, serious organised crime, cyber crime, hate crime and international terrorism – becoming an ideological battleground for the new UK government simply because of EU co-operation.

As a former Europol rapporteur in the European Parliament, for example, I know the agency is (and will remain under the Lisbon Treaty) a surprisingly small intelligence-sharing organisation, one increasingly scrutinised by the European Parliament.

But it’s also an important one: according to the Crown Prosecution Service cross-border crime affecting the UK is reaching “phenomenal” levels. This means people in Britain are increasingly making the link between organised crime, drugs, gun crime and the cross-border origins of these problems – and want to tackle them.

We also face the ongoing threat of international terrorism. During October, a failed bomb plot aimed at airliners brought terrorism and security right back into the news. The plot saw several explosive devices hidden in ink jet printers and smuggled onto aircraft, including passenger planes, but was foiled following the confession of a conspirator.

The explosives were prepared by members of an established terrorist group called Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula – or AQAP – and hundreds of lives would have been lost if the plot had succeeded. Now is the time to consider the nature of our response.

Shadow Home Secretary Ed Balls has changed Labour’s position on the balancing act we face, announcing that terror related detention should be reduced from 28 days if it can be done without impeding the police.

I fully support his approach – it must be about effective action against terrorism without damaging the civil liberties which mark us out as liberal democracies.

This also seems to be Home Secretary Theresa May’s position on terror related detention. But there is also a new round of increased security measures at home, including an announcement by the Home Secretary that she is “not afraid” to award UK police controversial new powers, including increased internet and telephone surveillance.

We need to ensure that we do not simply fall back on knee-jerk responses, but carefully consider the technology and tactics of our important counter-terrorism efforts. This is because terrorism does not respect borders, or differences in the policies of EU member states. Instead, we need to ensure that our response to co-ordinated international terrorism is both co-ordinated and international itself.

Even David Cameron has acknowledged the inter-connected reality of European security, conceding of the UK and Europe that “our societies and our defence have never been more connected”. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Conservatives will be able to deliver on this vision. In fact, only time will tell if Tory backbenchers can take any more pro-European remarks and actions from their leader. And in the meantime, the United States, Britain, France, and Germany have all banned air freight from Yemen, whilst other countries in Europe have not.

Cameron may have managed a defence agreement with the French, but potentially this coordination will prove too much. A Tory-Lib Dem government will never truly agree on how effective Europe can be in the area of justice, security and the protection of citizens’ freedoms.

But Labour is the party in Europe that can act.