UK home secretary to discuss rejoining EU police databases in Brussels talks

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is meeting EU Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in Brussels on Monday for talks on migration, border management, law enforcement cooperation and counter-terrorism. The meeting follows a call by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham for the UK to rejoin European law enforcement databases it lost access to after Brexit. It is the second meeting between Mahmood and Brunner in two months.

Focus on data sharing

On the agenda is the UK rejoining some police and security databases, including Eurodac, which collects fingerprints and facial images of asylum seekers from age six and includes security flags for people linked to terrorism or serious crime. Also under discussion is the Schengen Information System, which holds data on missing persons, stolen goods, vehicles, number plates and fugitives crossing internal EU borders. EU data shows about 20 million searches are made on the system daily, mostly on cars.

Burnham told MPs last week that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was open to restoring data sharing on immigration. He said he would work hard to get a practical arrangement at the November summit. The UK had lost control and the issue should get more attention in the Brexit debate, he added.

Brunner said the UK’s contribution is indispensable. He noted that illegal crossings at EU external borders are down 55% over two years, with a further third this year. Frontex data published Monday showed a 43% decline in small boats crossing the Channel. Brunner said reforms are paying off in the UK too. During his visit, Brunner will also meet MI5 Director General Ken McCallum, visit the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, and meet senior officials from the UK’s child sexual abuse centre. He will deliver a lecture at King’s College London on the EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum.