European states push to step up border controls

PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain and seven other countries are pushing for the European Union to restrict free movement rights and to step up border controls to stop jihadis returning to Europe after fighting in Syria or Iraq, The Telegraph reports.

Confidential proposals to be discussed by Theresa May, the Home Secretary and European interior ministers next week, include controversial plans to stop Islamist fundamentalists who are EU citizens at Europe's borders.

"It is essential to detect people returning to Europe after having fought in Syria, Iraq or any other conflict zone," said a confidential six page document dated Sept 26.

Officials estimate that there are up to 3,000 "foreign fighters" who are Europeans in Syria and Iraq who benefit from EU free movement rights that allow them to return from conflict zones without border checks.

"It is only a matter time before one or a group of these people carry out an attack on their return to Europe. Governments are terrified," said a diplomat.

Britain has teamed up with Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands to demand border checks on suspected Islamists returning to their home countries in the EU.

Following a United Nations security resolution last month, EU countries have agreed to make it "a criminal offence to travel abroad for terrorist purposes" meaning that returning foreign fighters can be arrested. But only if they are detected on their return to the EU.

While Britain is not a member of Europe's Schengen borderless zone, British security officials are concerned that terrorists are using passport free travel within the EU, and the lack of systematic controls on its borders, to evade detection, The Telegraph says.

"Because proper checks are not carried out on European passport holders, and no air passenger records are kept of flights within and outside Europe, the EU has become a place where foreign fighters disappear off the radar," said the diplomat.

The eight countries face a problem because EU rules mean that for "persons enjoying the community right of free movement, the borders code allows only non-systematic checks", meaning that returning foreign fighters are not scrutinized.

Currently controls are carried out on a random, "non-systemic" basis without consistent standards or profiling of potential terrorists, based on the identification of "common risk indicators", such as watch lists of known extremists.

Proposals to be discussed by the interior ministers suggest beefing up random checks with the profiling of likely suspects alongside a longer term rethink of Europe's Schengen rules to introduce identity checks for EU passport holders.

"Should we consider developing common risk indicators for non-systematic checks? How do we guarantee an equal level of border control at all external borders?" the document asked

"In addition, should the Schengen borders code be amended to allow for systematic checks at external borders for persons enjoying the right of free movement to fully ensure that they do not represent a threat to internal security?"

As an interim measure to get around EU free movement rules, the proposals suggest using existing powers allowing checks for stolen passports in order to introduce "systematic controls … in order to establish the identity of a person" by the back door.

Ministers fear that the proposals will be sunk by opposition from other governments and the European Parliament. A plan to store and share the details of all air passengers travelling within and outside the EU is currently blocked by MEPs.

The EU "passenger name record" scheme, which would include the widespread storing of information such as the credit card details and telephone numbers of all travelers, has been blocked by MEPs because of civil liberty concerns.

Next Thursday, EU ministers will consider whether the parliament should be shown intelligence showing how the measure could be used to track foreign fighters travelling between European destinations to prevent terror attacks.

"Are member states willing to brief the Parliament, on a confidential basis, on why an EU PNR is needed and provide examples?" said the document.

Security sources told The Telegraph that tackling the return of Islamist fighters from Syria and Iraq would a mean questioning the EU's current movement rules.

"We cannot continue with free movement rules that allow terrorists to travel without checks from and to conflict zones just because they are EU citizens," said an official.