Brits voorzitterschap in teken van terrorismebestrijding (en)

The war on terror has become the top priority of the British EU presidency, ahead of plans to overhaul the common agricultural policy, writes El Mundo.

London wants to streamline the EU response to terror by enhancing intelligence-sharing, harmonizing telephone and email data retention and by overhauling the post of EU antiterrorism coordinator, according to the paper.

UK interior minister Charles Clarke is set to present details of these ideas to member states at the September informal meeting of interior ministers.

Meanwhile, Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero aims to propose the creation of a high level anti- terrorist group able to take quick decisions when he meets UK leader Tony Blair on Wednesday in Downing Street.

Enhancing intelligence-sharing between member states has traditionally been an issue that London was opposed to, under pressure from the US which does not want intelligence shared with the UK to become automatically available to other EU countries.

Harmonizing data retention rules for internet and telephone companies for one year will also pit member states against the European Commission, which wants to draft the legislation itself.

Both sides are also very conscious of the European Parliament's position, which has protested about civil liberties issues in the past.

London is set to press for beefing up the post of EU anti-terrorism coordinator, currently occupied by Dutch politician Gijs de Vries i, whose team delivers expert analysis directly to EU interior ministries.

Interior issues were for the first time in history the main point of the agenda at a closed meeting of EU ambassadors known as 'coreper' last week.