| Author (Person) | Helm, Toby |
|---|---|
| Series Title | The Guardian |
| Series Details | 27.05.17 |
| Publication Date | 27/05/2017 |
| Content Type | News |
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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. |
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| Source Link | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/27/eu-theresa-may-combat-terror-brexit-europol |
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| Subject Categories | Security and Defence |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, United Kingdom |
