§ Mr. Thurnhamasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest progress on arrangements for the pooling of information about terrorism by European Governments.
§ Mr. EggarAs I told my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Bruinvels) on 12 January, we gave high priority to measures to combat terrorism during the United Kingdom presidency. Ministers met in the TREVI group on 25 September 1986 and 9 December 1986 and there was an informal meeting of Interior and Justice Ministers on 20 October 1986. The subject was also discussed by Foreign Ministers meeting in political cooperation and by Heads of State/Government at the European Council on 5 to 6 December.
These meetings resulted in enhanced practical cooperation between member states on counter-terrorism measures, including the setting up of a secure communications link between police forces of the member states; intensification of liaison between counter-terrorism experts and mutual exchanges of information about people excluded from the territory of any one member state. We will continue to do everything possible to promote effective counterterrorist co-operation among the Twelve.