Thursday January 29 1:56 PM EST European body considers expanding police Net powers By Helen Smith BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - E-mail will be fair game for Europe's police forces under a new directive being explored by the powerful European Union. Justice ministers from European Union member countries agreed Thursday to consider letting police snoop on Internet users as a measure to tackle organized crime. Police are currently barred from tapping into private computer messages, but that ban may be lifted due to fears that the Internet is being used by international criminals for money laundering and other crimes. The ministers, gathered for an informal meeting in Birmingham, central England, agreed police should be given new powers but added they should be tightly restricted so as not to damage the rapidly growing computer industry. "There could only be such access under strictly controlled conditions and on the basis of demonstrable need," said an official. Britain's Home Secretary (interior minister) Jack Straw, who is hosting the first meeting of justice ministers on his home territory under Britain's six-month EU presidency, says police forces must be brought into the modern age. "We are using 19th century procedures to pursue 21st century criminals," he said recently. Officials said another of Britain's objectives under its presidency -- the establishment of the pan-European police force Europol -- now appeared within its grasp. All but four of the EU's 15 member countries have ratified the treaty to set up Europol and they expect to do so within the next few months. "Europol should be up and running by the summer," the official said. The force will gather information to help national police forces to counter cross-border crime. There was a more mixed reception for one of the British presidency's main hobby horses -- an appeal for greater openness in EU affairs. The second day of the meeting on Friday is likely to be dominated by the EU's Schengen agreement dropping border controls and a recent influx of Kurdish immigrants from Iraq and Turkey. The immigrants began pouring into Italy after Rome said it would grant asylum to genuine refugees, putting the Schengen pact under severe strain. Police officials from France, Belgium, Turkey, the Netherlands, Austria and Italy met in Rome last month and agreed to tighten border controls. But the problem has not gone away and the Schengen member countries will hold a meeting of their own on Friday to address it. Schengen, which came into effect in March 1995, has also been blamed for a rise in organised crimes, such as drug trafficking and paedophile rings. The EU commission says the problems are due to member countries failing to put the agreement fully into effect, a view shared by Britain's Straw. Britain did not join the full Schengen pact, arguing its long coastal borders needed close policing, but Prime Minister Tony Blair signed up with enthusiasm in Amsterdam last June to a deal on international security cooperation. (Reuters/Wired)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 13:03:22 PDT