Brussels, 22/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Some of the ideas suggested by the European Antiterrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, for the EU Home Secretaries meeting on 29 January in Riga, include: prevention of radicalism, erasing illegal content on the Internet, common definition of foreign combatant and solutions that enable the competent authorities to counter corporate encryption mechanisms.
In a note highlighted on the Statewatch site, Gilles de Kerchove illustrated a number of possible areas where ministers can take action. These include, as indicated by EUROPE, a possible request for a new directive on personal data retention and the resumption of discussions on a European follow-up system on the funding of terrorism. Other instruments that have been given a lot of media attention include the European PNR (Passengers Name Record), the Schengen Border Code and the Schengen Information System, whose respective functions could be strengthened at the EU's external borders.
The note from De Kerchove also contains a large number of other sensitive proposals, such as the one on encryption messages, which provoked a considerable response from several MEPs on Wednesday 21 January. The coordinator is effectively suggesting that member states should be allowed to access the communications of users using applications made by companies, such as WhatsApp, for example, which strengthened their confidentiality mechanisms after the revelations made by Edward Snowden. Since this scandal, telecommunication and Internet companies have begun using “decentralised” encryption mechanisms making legal access by the competent authorities increasingly difficult, explains Gilles de Kerchove. The latter said that the Commission could possibly be requested to explore the rules that compel “companies operating in the EU, in certain conditions included in national law and in full respect of fundamental rights, to provide access to the competent authorities”.
Jan Philipp Albrecht (Greens/ EFA, Germany) said that “rather than protecting citizens, this will put citizens' security in danger and undermine fundamental rights on data protection and private life”. Gilles de Kerchove would also like member states to move forward on the definition of a foreign combatant, in an effort to facilitate a European response. This could consist of, for example, “going abroad to join a terrorist organisation and fight there”. Strengthening the powers of Europol on illegal content on certain hubs, by way of a “flagging” system, is also another possible area of action. According to De Kerchove, around 5,000 Europeans could currently be involved in the jihad abroad. (SP)