SPAIN’S PRESIDENCY of the EU is taking steps to strengthen intelligence-sharing among members of the union.
In a development that follows the alleged failed attempt by a Nigerian to blow up an aircraft flying between Amsterdam and Detroit on Christmas Day, the presidency is planning to set up a dedicated unit to share counter-terrorism intelligence among member states.
The new unit would facilitate the exchange of intelligence between two or several EU members and work in co-operation with EU counter-terrorism co-ordinator Gilles de Kerchove. The plan is in line with the security policy priorities set out by the government of prime minister José Luis Zapatero before its six-month presidency took office on January 1st.
Spain pledged to “promote direct and operational co-operation among member states’ security forces through concrete actions providing clear added value”. With this aim in mind, it also promised to facilitate and simplify “the creation of joint police co-operation teams” when necessary to establish common operations.
Specifically, Spain said it would work towards strengthening relations between the anti-terrorist centres of member states and encourage those states who do not have such centres to create them in order to facilitate networking.
A Spanish interior ministry source quoted by El Paissaid national counterterrorism units in Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Portugal supported the initiative.
In addition to intelligence co-operation, the Spanish presidency is also focusing on terrorism financing. Spain, which suffered a deadly bomb attack on commuter trains in Madrid in 2004, is also preparing a policy document setting out the security challenges faced by the union.
According to the presidency, the document will set out “the strategic lines that European policies will follow in future years, to ensure better co-operation, co-ordination and intelligence”.
The Lisbon Treaty empowers member states to deepen their security co-operation with the creation of a standing committee within the European Council “to ensure that operational co-operation on internal security is promoted and strengthened”.
Meanwhile, Spain’s embassy in Yemen restricted access to the public yesterday, a move that followed the closure of the US, British, Czech and French embassies due to heightened fears of an attack on western interests by al-Qaeda’s unit in the country.