US embassy cable - 05BRUSSELS2688

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 002688 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DHS FOR IAO, BORDER PATROL 
DOJ FOR CRM 
ROME ALSO FOR INS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, CMGT, CVIS, KCRM, PREF, UK, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT:  EU TO SPEED UP COUNTER-TERRORISM MEASURES 
AFTER LONDON ATTACKS 
 
REF: USEU BRUSSELS 2148 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, at their 
July 13 extraordinary meeting convened in response 
to the London attacks, were "absolutely determined" 
to speed up implementation measures in the EU Action 
Plan to combat terrorism.  A four-page declaration 
gave new momentum to a detailed list of already 
planned CT measures, committing the Council to the 
adoption of EU legislation on the retention of 
telecom data (October 2005) the European Evidence 
Warrant (December 2005), and the exchange of 
information between law enforcement authorities 
(December 2005).  The declaration also underlines 
"the importance of preventing people turning to 
terrorism by addressing the factors that contribute 
to radicalization and recruitment to terrorist 
groups."  The Council will agree by the year's end 
on an EU strategy setting out action on this issue. 
French Minister Sarkozy confirmed that France had 
temporarily restored controls at its borders and got 
a strong rebuttal from the UK Presidency for telling 
reporters that some of the team suspected in the 
London attacks had been arrested and freed last 
year.  Full text of Council conclusions has been 
transmitted to EUR/ERA.  END SUMMARY. 
 
NO NEW MEASURES 
--------------- 
 
2.  At the extraordinary Council meeting convened by 
the British Presidency in response to the London 
attacks, EU Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs 
(JHA) swiftly adopted a declaration strengthening 
the Council's "commitment to combating terrorism and 
upholding the principles of freedom, security and 
justice."  The four-page declaration called the July 
7 attacks "an affront to universal values on which 
the EU is based" and to the EU's commitment to 
democratic societies "within which people of all 
faiths and backgrounds can live, work and prosper 
together."  The declaration said: "The terrorists 
who reject that commitment and seek to use violence 
to impose their ideas will be defeated." 
 
3.  The Council, working with CT Coordinator de 
Vries, the Commission and the European Parliament, 
will "accelerate implementation of the EU Action 
Plan on Combating Terrorism and other existing 
commitments."  UK Home Secretary/Council chair 
Charles Clarke had opened the meeting by saying: 
"None of our proposals are new.  But we have to 
speed up our work to ensure that we put in place, in 
practice, the measures which are needed to make the 
work of terrorism more difficult."  At the final 
press conference, Clarke said all delegations were 
"absolutely determined" to speed up implementation 
of CT measures.  Commission Vice-President Frattini, 
who had told reporters following a Commission 
roundtable discussion earlier in the day that the 
time had come to "blame and shame" those Member 
States "who do not fully implement" the EU measures 
agreed after 9/11 and the March 2004 Madrid attacks, 
opined that the focus must be on "implementation 
rather than new legislation." 
 
4.  The Council said its immediate priority was "to 
build on the existing strong EU framework for 
pursuing and investigating terrorists across 
borders, in order to impede terrorists' planning, 
disrupt existing networks, cut off any funding and 
bringing terrorists to justice."   The declaration 
gives new momentum to a detailed list of already 
planned CT measures (see http://ue.eu.int/newsroom). 
Among other points, the Council will: 
 
--Agree the Framework Decisions on the Retention 
of Telecommunications Data (October 2005), on 
the European Evidence Warrant (December 2005), 
and on the exchange of information between law 
enforcement authorities (December 2005); adopt 
the Decision on the exchange of information 
concerning terrorist offences (September 2005); 
 
--Combat terrorist financing by: agreeing by 
December 2005 on a Regulation on Wire 
Transfers; adopting the Third Money Laundering 
Directive and the Regulation on cash control by 
September 2005; agreeing to a Code of Conduct 
to prevent the misuse of charities by 
terrorists (December 2005); reviewing the EU's 
performance overall (December 2005) and urging 
Member States to ensure that comprehensive 
financial investigation is a part of all 
terrorist investigations and to develop robust 
asset freezing powers. 
 
5.  Several ministers at national briefings and in 
side comments to the press highlighted the need for 
compulsory storage of telecom data, already 
discussed in the June 2 JHA Council (REFTEL).  The 
draft Framework Decision requiring telecom providers 
to retain data for the investigation, detection and 
pursuit of criminal offences has been criticized by 
members of the European Parliament, who have raised 
concerns about proportionality, cost, privacy, and 
civil liberties.  Commission President Barroso and 
Vice-President Frattini on July 13 said the 
Commission would table another draft piece of 
legislation in September with a view to putting data 
retention on a different (Community) legal basis 
(Note: this would require the EP's agreement under a 
procedure of co-decision with the Council that could 
complicate the formal adoption of the legislation, 
though the UK Presidency appeared to have secured an 
undertaking on the substance.  End note).  Frattini 
said the new draft would be part of a package that 
would also include data protection measures, thus 
ensuring a "balanced approach." 
 
HOW TO COMBAT RADICALIZATION 
---------------------------- 
 
6.  The declaration underlines "the importance of 
preventing people turning to terrorism by addressing 
the factors that contribute to radicalization and 
recruitment to terrorist groups."  The Council will 
agree by December 2005 on an EU strategy setting out 
action on this issue.  Frattini said the problem was 
on the rise:  "We are noting a growing recruitment 
of terrorists in the Member states."  In his 
statement to the Council and meeting with press, 
French Minister of State/Interior Minister Sarkozy 
backed Clarke's call for a strategy to fight 
radicalization and recruitment by terrorist groups. 
Sarkozy called on EU governments to exchange 
intelligence on "radical Muslim preachers and imams 
whose actions disrupt public order by their support 
for violence, hatred and discrimination."  Sarkozy, 
who said it was "terrifying" to think that young 
Europeans, who were born in Europe, can become 
suicide bombers, called for "operational exchanges 
on jihad supporters recently freed from prison and 
on channels for the sending of fighters to Iraq." 
Drawing "lessons from the London attacks," he called 
for better surveillance of places of worship, 
prisons, charities and associations, including 
sports clubs, "that are fronts for radical or 
terrorist ideologies." 
 
FRANCE SUSPENDS SCHENGEN 
------------------------ 
 
7.  The declaration also stressed "the need to 
reduce vulnerability to attack by protecting 
citizens and infrastructure."  A European program 
for the protection of critical infrastructure will 
be agreed by the year's end.  The Council will 
reinforce common standards on aviation security by 
the end of 2005.  The Council also pledged to 
"develop further the ability to share visa 
information via the Visa Information System (VIS) 
and law-enforcement information via the second 
generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS 
II)."  The Council was also committed to "prioritize 
the roll-out of biometrics," urging Member States to 
take a cooperative approach to "the provision of 
biometric capacity to visa issuing posts." 
 
8.  Taking questions, Sarkozy confirmed that France 
had temporarily restored controls at its borders, as 
permitted under the Schengen accords:  "If we don't 
strengthen controls when there are fifty dead in 
London, I don't know when we do it." 
 
SARKOZY GETS STRONG REBUTTAL FROM UK 
------------------------------------ 
 
9.  The display of solidarity and unanimity was 
somewhat spoiled following Sarkozy's suggestion at 
his briefing that some of the team suspected to have 
planned the London attacks had been arrested (and 
subsequently freed) last year, which prompted a 
blunt denial by the UK.  Clarke publicly distanced 
himself from Sarkozy, saying the French minister's 
comments had "absolutely no foundation."  Clarke 
noted that Sarkozy left the meeting "halfway 
through," adding: "Perhaps that's his style.  But he 
is a great leader of France and I wish him the 
best."  A French spokesman later clarified that 
Sarkozy had not been referring to the four main 
suspects in the London attacks, but to other members 
of a group or network.  Sarkozy had been speaking on 
his own authority, not quoting Clarke's briefing to 
ministers. 
 
THE RIGHT TO SECURITY 
--------------------- 
 
10.  Throughout the day, the British Presidency 
(Clarke at meeting with the European Parliament 
committee on Civil Liberties) and the Commission 
(Frattini) called for a "balanced approach" between 
fundamental rights and liberties and the need to 
ensure security.  Frattini noted, "The right to 
security is in itself a fundamental right." 
 
MCKINLEY