On Friday 9 December, EU interior ministers discussed monitoring of counter-terror measures based on a note from the EU counter-terror coordinator, Belgium’s Gilles de Kerchove, which gave them a series of options and analysis.
According to de Kerchove’s memo, 2,000 to 2,500 Europeans are still in Syria and Iraq. As a proportion of the total number of foreign fighters, some 15% to 20% have died in combat and 30% to 35% have returned to Europe. The latter are now a potential security problem.
The European coordinator says in the memo that gaps in information need to be filled among the member states. He recommends including information about returned foreign combatants or digital fingerprints of jihadis in the Schengen Information System, Europol and other databases. He also recommends regular dialogue with Turkey about foreign combatants.
The ministers discussed the issue of encrypting electronic communications. Justice ministers’ debate on the question is tough (see EUROPE 11685). At this stage, the European Commission has pledged to make changes to the e-privacy directive to deal with member states’ concerns, said a source, but has not announced any specific action. France has considered changes to the directive, a source explained on Wednesday 7 December, to align internet service providers’ duties with those of telecoms operators. Justice Commissioner Vera Jourová said on Thursday that she would be proposing common action in 2017 on the acquisition of electronic evidence, something encouraged by the European counter-terror coordinator in the memo.
Finally, the ministers discussed an entry-exit system based on a progress report from the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 11526). At the moment, some ministers still want to include Europeans in this system of recording who crosses Schengen Free Circulation Area external borders. The progress report comments on this specific question that including inhabitants of the Schengen Area might be considered in separate legislation. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)