David Davis proposes new post-Brexit security pact to fight terrorism

Security links between Britain and the European Union should be secured with a new legal pact to make sure the fight against terrorism is not hit by Brexit, David Davis has said.

کد خبر: ۷۳۰۸۶۴

تاریخ: ۲۶ شهريور ۱۳۹۶ - ۰۸:۲۶

With the security operation still underway following the train bombing at Parsons Green in west London, the Brexit secretary told Brussels it was in both sides’ interest to continue to cooperate closely to help protect citizens.

He has drawn up proposals for a new treaty to give legal backing to intelligence, law enforcement and criminal justice partnerships after March 2019.

Sir Ed Davey, the home affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said Theresa May’s stance on the European court of justice was jeopardising the cooperation Davis was calling for.

He said: "It’s good ministers have stopped threatening to use our collective security as a Brexit bargaining chip, but this proposal is deeply muddled.

"Britain must be part of Europe’s top crime-fighting tools like the European arrest warrant and shared databases on criminals. But the prime minister’s refusal to support any deal where the European court of justice retains judicial oversight is damaging our chances of preserving this vital co-operation.

"Theresa May must not let her insecurity in the face of Boris Johnson’s latest outburst deflect from the pressing need to keep existing EU crimefighting measures.”

In his statement overnight, Davis said: "Effective international cooperation is absolutely crucial for both the UK and the EU if we are to keep our citizens safe and bring criminals to justice.

"We already have a deep level of collaboration with the EU on security matters and it is in both our interests to find ways to maintain it. We approach negotiations on our future special partnership with the EU as an opportunity to build on our existing achievements.

"A new security treaty with the EU would be underpinned by our shared principles, and should make sure our partnership has the agility to respond to the ever-changing threats we face.”

In a future partnership paper to be released on Monday, Davis will say the UK and the EU would both benefit from making sure there are no holes in operational ties when Britain exits the bloc.

The document will set out proposals to keep in place ties on security and justice between Britain and the EU that would be legally underpinned by the treaty.

But the arrangements should be "versatile and dynamic enough” to allow countries to respond to changing threats, it will say, and there must also be provision for dispute resolution.

The home secretary, Amber Rudd, said recent terror attacks across the bloc showed the scale of the threat and the need for cooperation.

She said: "Recent events in the UK and across Europe have shown the criminal and terrorist threats we face are varied and increasingly international. The long-standing collaboration we have with our European partners allows us to jointly address these threats and keep our citizens safe.

"As we prepare to leave the EU it is therefore vital that we agree a new way to ensure continued security, law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation.”