Foreign agents ‘have free hand in Europe’

MOST European countries, including Ireland, appear to be “a happy hunting ground” for foreign security services.

The disclosure was made yesterday by the Council of Europe's Secretary General, Terry Davis.

With the exception of Hungary, he said, European countries did not have legal provisions to ensure an effective oversight over the activities of foreign security services on their territory.

A Council of Europe inquiry team, it emerged in a new report on so-called rendition flights by the CIA, found that Luxembourg investigated a suspect aircraft that landed on November 16 last and had links to Ireland.

It raised concerns over a Beech 200 aircraft which arrived from Corfu and departed to Dublin. The report said no passenger left or entered the aircraft while it was in Luxembourg.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said the Government would carefully examine any proposals by the secretary general, including issues relating to international regulation of civil aviation, in the aftermath of the report.

“The secretary general raises the issue of assurances relating to the compliance of foreign agents' activities with international and domestic law,” he said.

“However, the assurances the Government has received from the US relate to a specific matter of fact.

“They state categorically that prisoners have not been, nor would they be, transferred through Irish territory without the express permission of the Irish authorities.

“It has been made clear by the Government that, in conformity with the relevant domestic and international law, permission would not be granted for the transit of an aircraft participating in an extraordinary rendition operation or for any other unlawful act.”

The Council of Europe urged European states to introduce tougher laws to guarantee oversight of their spy services and better controls over foreign agents operating on their territory.

The report by the Strasbourg-based human rights body on the involvement of European countries in the so-called extraordinary rendition process sought information from all 46 member states, including Ireland.

“The secretary general's analysis makes clear that the Government's comprehensive response was one of a minority of 13 responses which he judged not to require further explanation,” Mr Ahern said.

However, the opposition said the Irish Government's response to the Council's inquiry into the alleged unlawful detention and transport of suspects by the CIA throughout Europe was misleading.

Michael D Higgins, the Labour Party's spokesman on Foreign Affairs, said the Government had given the inquiry the impression that it had rights and may have searched aircraft that landed at Irish airports.

“They gave the impression to the Council of Europe that they had the right, and indeed the capacity, to search the planes in order to provide evidence if they wished,” Mr Higgins said. “But of course they hadn't searched any planes.”