Legal News

The Home Secretary Amber Rudd has discussed counter-terrorism, security and migration with Germany's Interior Minister Dr. Thomas de Maizière in Berlin.

The Home Office said that effective cooperation between the UK and Germany remained crucial in addressing the shared threat faced from terrorism and extremism – as well as addressing the current challenges posed by migratory flows to Europe.

The UK and Germany have agreed that cooperation must and would continue to be developed, including after the UK leaves the EU.

During talks, Amber Rudd agreed that the UK and Germany would continue to strengthen links through the sharing of information and closer working on investigations, as well as deepening collaboration on countering radicalisation through further exchanges of good practice and experience between experts.

The UK and Germany will also support better regulation and control of the acquisition and possession of firearms within Europe – including by adopting the revised Weapons Directive as soon as possible and by tackling weapons smuggling through the Balkans.

The two countries will also continue to work closely to counter any potential threats to maritime and aviation security – and prioritise information sharing between all EU member states, in order better to meet emerging threats, including ensuring that appropriate information exchange can take place between EU and international databases, as well as the use and implementation of existing tools and capabilities.

It was also agreed that the two governments would call for and support all member states to implement the EU directive on the use of Passenger Name Records without delay – and include, as agreed, charter flights and intra-European flights.

The UK and Germany will also call for the reinforcement of external borders through enhanced security measures, systematic use of databases and well-trained personnel – and call on those who have not yet signed and ratified the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime to do so as soon as possible

The Home Office said that, in the face of the challenges posed by ongoing migratory flows in Europe, there would be a commitment to working together to strengthen the security of the EU external border – at the same time as ensuring that support is available to those in need of international protection.

The UK and Germany will also seek to address the upstream sources of migration into Europe – and maintain collaboration on the return of those found not to be in need of protection.

In the coming months, the two governments will continue close cooperation, in order to bear down on the organised crime gangs exploiting the vulnerable, including working with the governments of Greece and Turkey to support the effective operation of the EU-Turkey agreement of 18 March 2016.

The UK and Germany will also continue to press all countries that participated in the London Syria Conference in February to make good on the commitments made to help Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan –
and in line with a continued commitment to effective security cooperation, the two governments will explore a fingerprint exchange pilot scheme (Prüm fingerprint pilot) between the UK and Germany, building on the DNA exchange pilot conducted in 2015.

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