Security: EU Countries

(asked on 6th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms and structures have been agreed between the EU and the UK on future security co-operation.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 11th January 2021

The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority.

The Trade Co-operation Agreement (TCA) was signed by the EU and the UK on 30 December. The agreement delivers a comprehensive package of capabilities that ensures we can work with counterparts across Europe to tackle serious crime and terrorism – protecting the public and bringing criminals to justice.

This includes: streamlined extradition arrangements which prevent disproportionate extradition requests and long periods of pre-trial detention; effective operational co-operation with Europol and Eurojust that reflects the scale of our contribution to these agencies; fast and effective exchange of national DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration data via the Prüm system; fast and effective arrangements for exchanging criminal records data via shared technical infrastructure; the continued transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data from the EU; and arrangements that will simplify and speed up cooperation with EU Member States on mutual legal assistance and asset freezing and confiscation. The agreement also provides an additional basis for bilateral law enforcement cooperation to continue between the UK and EU Member States. This includes information sharing in response to requests, as well as on a spontaneous basis, such as information on wanted and missing persons and objects.

Further detail on the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice co-operation elements of the TCA are available on GOV.UK.

The UK is, and will continue to be, a global leader on security and one of the safest countries in the world.

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