Insight
Hard Brexit, soft data: How to keep Britain plugged into EU databases by Camino Mortera-Martinez 23 June 2017
Retaining full access to EU databases fighting crime and terrorism will not be easy for Britain. Any deal will require a role for the European Court of Justice and keeping EU privacy laws. On June 7th, four days after the London Bridge terrorist attack which left eight dead and 48 injured, it emerged that the Italian authorities had warned their British counterparts about one of the perpetrators, Italian citizen Youssef Zaghba. His details were uploaded to the Schengen Information System (SIS), an EU-wide law enforcement database, after he was stopped at Bologna airport while trying to reach Syria. It is unclear precisely what information was put into the system – the British authorities claim that the SIS alert only suggested that Zaghba was involved in a non-terrorism related crime. But Zaghba’s case is just the latest proof of the importance of EU co-operation on counter-terrorism. It will remain so after Brexit. EU databases are crucial if this co-operation is to be successful. The British government knows this, and will therefore try to retain access after the UK leaves the EU. But if Theresa May insists that Britain will not be subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), things may turn out much more difficult than she expects. There are three areas of particular importance for European co-operation against crime and terrorism. In decreasing order of difficulty in the Brexit negotiations, these are the European Arrest Warrant (EAW); access to databases such as the Schengen Information System; and police and judicial co-operation through the EU agencies Europol and Eurojust. In none of these areas is Britain likely to retain the same status it enjoys now. But in most of them, the EU and the UK will be able to reach an agreement that keeps the UK as closely associated as possible. This will require a bit of creativity. This insight is the second in a three part series, and looks at whether or not the UK will be able to remain plugged into the EU’s law enforcement databases, and, if so, under what conditions.
CER INSIGHT: Hard Brexit, soft data: How to keep Britain plugged into EU databases 23 June 2017
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