EU to harmonise anti-terror laws

21 Sep, 2001 05:41 AM3 mins to read

BRUSSELS - Sweeping European anti-terrorist measures, including plans for European Union-wide arrest warrants, will be unveiled in Brussels today, as the 15 nations plan a coordinated response to the attacks on the United States.

The European Commission will propose a new system of arrest warrants for serious crimes across Europe, to help crack down on terrorist cells.

And tomorrow, Europe's Justice and Interior Ministers will also discuss a new network of anti-terrorism liaison officers, a bigger role for Europol, the EU's police information-sharing headquarters, and closer collaboration on security precautions.

EU leaders are set to endorse the moves when they meet in Brussels at an emergency summit. The latest proposals aim to revolutionise judicial co-operation between member states and to draw up a common EU definition for terrorism.

The fight against terrorism inside the EU is hampered by differences in law from country to country; only six of the 15 countries have laws which refer to "terrorism" or "terrorists" while the rest use more general laws to prosecute suspects.

The initiative to harmonise laws has been sped up after the attacks on the US and won new support among countries like the United Kingdom which might normally be suspicious of yielding sovereignty to the EU.

The basis of a new agreement will be consensus on what constitutes terrorism. The commission will put forward a broad definition, which includes cyber and environmental attacks.

It also hopes to lay down a Europe-wide agreement on maximum sentences which, in the most serious incidents, would be life in prison.

Warrants issued in one country for terrorist offences would be recognised by other EU countries and replace extradition, if the proposals are adopted.

"It will be the first time there will be automatic mutual recognition of judgments," said one official. "This is the first step in achieving European co-operation on justice."

EU policymakers see a big new role for Europol in combating international terrorism in the EU. At the meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers they are expected to discuss the possible extension of Europol's mandate to allow it to work more closely with the authorities in the US.

British officials have promised that Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, will be giving firm support to a new package of anti-terrorist measures.

Other ideas likely to be discussed tomorrow include mutual recognition of orders freezing the assets of terrorist suspects, and EU-wide lists of which terrorist groups should be banned organisations. In the wake of the attacks on America and the support offered by European countries, there may be a move to extend EU-US cooperation on counter-terrorism.

And there may be calls for all 15 member states to sign up to and implement the United Nations' International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which lays down cross-border procedures.

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