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Parliamentary question - E-000503/2016Parliamentary question
E-000503/2016

Fight against terrorism and the priority of developing information-sharing capabilities

Question for written answer E-000503-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Mariya Gabriel (PPE)

The fight against terrorism remains a national competence, but EU support is necessary to build trust among Member States and facilitate joint action, cooperation and exchange of information. Greater interoperability between national law enforcement authorities, intelligence services and European databases must be the focus of our work in the coming months.

As regards developing information-sharing capabilities, how many Member States have to date established a connection with the secure channel of communication provided by Europol (SIENA)? Will the Commission propose to allow Europol to have an automatic and automated connection to SIS II, to replace the current case-by-case manual checks?

Technical connectivity is not sufficient. Member States must understand, correctly interpret and compare the data available, but the current lack of harmonised criteria and definitions within the EU hinders interoperability. Since 2012, the EU has had a common methodology to assess and manage aviation security risks. Would the Commission extend the scope of this framework to assist in the fight against terrorism, so as to ensure a more coherent and coordinated assessment of terrorism risks within the EU, which could thus lead to a progressive homogenisation of the different criteria and parameters used by Member States?