European Union ministers agreed today to revamp the job of the bloc's counter-terrorism tsar after its first incumbent ran up against resistance from interior ministers who resented him crossing on to their turf.
EU ministers meeting in Brussels also endorsed a compromise plan for the sharing of data between member states, narrowing it to crimes with a cross-border dimension and setting conditions for sharing that data with non-EU states.
The post of anti-terrorism coordinator was created with fanfare as an urgent response to the Madrid train bombings of March 2004, when radical Islamists killed 191 people.
It went to Dutchman Gijs de Vries, but diplomats said his powers proved limited, given resistance from national security chiefs. De Vries stepped down in March citing personal reasons and a successor has yet to be found.
Portuguese Interior Minister Rui Pereira, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, told reporters EU interior ministers had agreed on the profile, responsibilities and mandate of a new European anti-terrorism coordinator.
He gave no details, but added at a news conference: "We concluded that the coordinator should have a largely technical profile and role."
"He will be particularly concerned with coordination and with bundling and pooling forces between members states and the various other authorities ensuring smooth cooperation between all the European institutions."