More data sharing needed in fight against terrorism: Dutch FM

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders told the European Parliament (EP) Wednesday that improving information exchange and the interoperability of data systems were vital in the fight against terrorism.

Addressing a debate on data sharing and European information systems, Koenders, speaking on behalf of the Council of the EU, said it was necessary to connect the dots when it comes to making intelligent use information gathered by multiple authorities across the EU.

Koenders said that while there was a lot of work to achieve at the political level, the real goal of the EU's counter-terrorism strategy was to give front line agents, like police and immigration officers, the ability to get solid information in real time on which they can act.

As part of its counter-terrorism strategy the EU institutions have been developing systems for exchanging information on terrorist suspects gathered by member states, such as the Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) and the Europol Information System (EIS).

However, MEPs stressed that further information sharing between EU states must come with proper protection of rights to privacy for ordinary citizens.

Slovenian socialist MEP Tanja Fajon said collecting even more information about private citizens was not the way to counter the threat of terrorism and transnational crime.

"Criminals will always remain one step ahead," she said. "Huge databases will not help us, we need to make better use of the information we already have. Moreover, European citizens do not want authorities to have unlimited and unsupervised access to their personal data."

Belgian conservative MEP Helga Stevens commented that exchange of information was critical to ensuring security and safety. "We have no alternative but to defend our borders through better intelligence. We cannot allow citizens to lose trust in our ability to protect them," she said.

EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, conceded that the current system of information exchange was not working. Third country citizens are currently not monitored unless travelling by air, he told Parliament, while the system was fragmented, leaving border guards and police unable to access wider sources of information.

"Sharing information need not conflict with fundamental rights," Avramopoulos continued. "Freedom and security are two sides of the same coin. You can't have freedom if you don't have security." Endit