EU proposes terrorist database.The European Union's head office recently proposed a Europe-wide database of criminal records for terrorists as part of efforts to improve cooperation between governments in the wake of the March 11 train bombings in Madrid. The European Commission European Commission, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) invested with executive and some legislative powers. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was founded in 1967 when the three treaty organizations comprising what was then the European Community has scolded governments for dragging their heels in enacting anti-terrorism measures approved after the September 11, 2001, attacks and urged EU governments to set aside "bureaucratic and technical" hurdles. Anti-terror proposals have caused friction between the EU's head office, European lawmakers, and the United States. A European Parliament committee voted against a commission deal allowing U.S. authorities to collect personal data on airline passengers, saying it undermined privacy rights. The United States has demand ed all airlines to provide passenger data--including credit card data and meal preferences--within 15 minutes of departure and threatened fines of up to $6,000 per passenger and the loss of landing rights for noncompliance noncompliance failure of the owner to follow instructions, particularly in administering medication as prescribed; a cause of a less than expected response to treatment. noncompliance . The European Commission report proposed a register of suspected terrorists' convictions to help governments keep track of their activities and dry up their funds. It also urged countries to implement EU laws enabling courts across the EU to recognize confiscation confiscation In law, the act of seizing property without compensation and submitting it to the public treasury. Illegal items such as narcotics or firearms, or profits from the sale of illegal items, may be confiscated by the police. Additionally, government action (e.g. orders issued in other EU states. According to the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times, since 2001, the 15 EU governments have agreed in principle oil at least 10 different pan-European laws to corn bat terrorism, but implementation has been spotty. According to the Commission's report: * Five nations must still enact European Arrest Warrant The European Arrest Warrant (EAW, or more rarely, EUAW) is an arrest warrant to allow the arrest of criminal suspects and their transfer for trial or detention which is valid throughout the states of the European Union (EU). legislation. * Three must still implement a common definition of terrorism Few words are as politically or emotionally charged as terrorism. A 1988 study by the US Army[1] counted 109 definitions of terrorism that covered a total of 22 different definitional elements. and setting EU-wide minimum and maximum sentences for terrorists. * Eleven of 15 states must still enact a law enabling police to make cross-border requests to intercept communications and monitor bank accounts. * One state must still enact an accord on combating money laundering The process of taking the proceeds of criminal activity and making them appear legal. Laundering allows criminals to transform illegally obtained gain into seemingly legitimate funds. by tracing, freezing, seizing, and confiscating criminals' funds. * Only nine EU states have enacted a deal on joint investigation teams from different EU nations tracing cross border criminal activities. |
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