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Sharing terrorism lists is a key step in heading off terrorists
EU countries have decided to start sharing terrorism lists. A Franco-Dutch proposal to this effect was approved yesterday at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) in Brussels.
Terrorism knows no borders, and as a result, countries need to work together more closely to fight it. Countries have a better chance at preventing terrorism when they have access to accurate, timely information. At the start of the year, foreign minister Bert Koenders made a proposal to share national terrorism lists at a major international meeting involving representatives of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and the Anti-ISIS Coalition.
'Sharing lists is a major step'
‘By sharing terrorism lists we can prevent people on the Dutch list from opening a bank account in Belgium,’ Mr Koenders said. ‘And vice versa: under this new system, people on the Belgian list will not be able to access their money here. Sharing lists is a major step in the prevention of terrorist financing. I’m glad that the proposal was approved yesterday by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. As holder of the EU Presidency, the Netherlands was able to set this discussion in motion.’
The Netherlands worked closely with France to flesh out this proposal.
