Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

 
It was announced in Brussels on Wednesday that representatives of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which represents member states on the one hand, and the European Parliament on the other, reached an interim agreement on a regulation related to the exchange of digital information in terrorism cases. The agreed transcript is subject to approval by the Council and the European Parliament before undergoing the formal adoption procedure.
This draft regulation is part of the ongoing efforts to modernize and digitize cross-border judicial cooperation.
According to what came in a statement issued by the institutions of the European Union, which also included a statement by the Czech Minister of Justice Pavel Blanchek, whose country holds the current rotating presidency of the European Union.
"Terrorists know no borders, they build their networks, prepare and carry out their attacks across EU member states. To be able to stop them, our jurisdictions also need to see across borders. And the new digital system agreed today will allow better check information and ensure that any links are detected." , regardless of where in the European Union a terrorist offense was committed.”

Currently, member states exchange information with Eurojust on issues related to terrorism through various channels. This information is then included in the European Anti-Terrorism Judicial Register, a system that is technically outdated and does not allow for proper verification of information.

The proposal aims to address these shortcomings and allow Eurojust to play a stronger and more proactive role in supporting coordination and cooperation between national authorities investigating and prosecuting terrorist crimes.

Under the proposed rules, member states would have to provide Eurojust with information on any criminal investigations relating to terrorist offenses once such cases have been referred to judicial authorities. As for the most prominent provisions of the recent agreement:
Creates a modern digital case management system that stores this information and allows for review
Enables Eurojust to better detect links between transnational investigations and prosecutions in the field of terrorism and proactively inform Member States about links found
Creates a secure digital communication channel between Member States and Eurojust
Simplifies cooperation with third countries by giving prosecutors seconded to Eurojust access to the case management system