Counter-terrorism initiative unites EU states

WITH the rush to introduce laws to counter terrorism, EU member states co-operated as they rarely do.

The agreements were reached under specific parts of the EU treaties that meant the crackdown on terrorism involved the ministers from the 15 member states mainly and did not include the parliament or the commission.

The speed and the range of the measures worried various civil rights organisations and eventually it was raised as an issue in the parliament. After debating the issues last year the MEPs asked the commission to put together an independent group of experts to carry out a report on the protection of fundamental rights in the union.