Reuters AlertNet Lite - Romania wants EU-wide intelligence agency

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Romania wants EU-wide intelligence agency

18 Oct 2006 12:22:52 GMT
Source: Reuters

BUCHAREST, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The European Union needs an agency to share intelligence from national secret services to better fight terrorism, Romanian President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday.

"Sooner or later, the EU should have an institution to which all the member states will contribute information related to fighting existing risks," Basescu told a meeting of EU parliamentary committees which deal with intelligence issues within the 25-nation bloc.

"There are only bilateral conventions between states and information circulates with great difficulty."

The EU, rocked by Islamist bombings in Spain and Britain since 2004, has established a small intelligence unit in the office of foreign policy chief Javier Solana to help share counter-terrorism information.

But periodic calls from smaller states to establish a "European CIA" have met with no enthusiasm because of the traditional reluctance of intelligence agencies to share their knowledge widely and risk compromising their sources.

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Last updated:Wed Oct 18 12:25:02 2006