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Combating cybercrime and terrorism
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Michèle Alliot-Marie, French Minister of the Interior,
Overseas France and Territorial Communities,
President of the Council
Photo: Council of the European Union
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The internet has brought the whole world closer together, turning the planet into a global village. However, the creation of the worldwide web was seized upon straight away by criminals taking advantage of the internet's openness, lack of control and cross‑border nature. One of the EU's aims is to protect Europe's citizens, in particular by means of police and judicial cooperation. With this in mind, on 27 November 2008 the Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted some conclusions on action against cybercrime.
Cybercrime takes a wide variety of forms: child pornography, identity theft, financial offences and trafficking in arms and in drugs. The conclusions call on Member States to establish cyberpatrols in order to monitor the internet and share the information gathered.
At the Council meeting, a report by the EU Counter‑Terrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerckhove, on action against terrorism was presented. One of the topics dealt with in the report is the Check the Web project. That project is aimed at preventing the use of the internet for terrorist purposes, e.g. by spreading radicalism and propaganda for potential terrorism and by disseminating instructions or guides for planning acts of violence. Intelligence gleaned from searching by Member States involved in the project is passed on to the Europol information system, to be shared with other Member States, subject to observance of fundamental rights.
More information:
Council Conclusions (pdf)
Council webcast of press conference
Roaming costs to fall further
Prices for using mobile phones while travelling within the EU will be reduced next year, as ministers for telecommunications agreed on 27 November on measures to protect consumers from excessive bills.
Prices for voice calls made in another EU country were already brought down by the "roaming regulation" last year. That regulation, due to expire in 2010, will be extended for another three years. What is more, the Council wants the retail prices of these calls to be gradually reduced further from 2009 to 2013. Billing per second for all roaming calls made or received will also help reduce costs, for both business and leisure travellers.
As mobile phone operators have failed to voluntarily reduce their high tariffs on roaming text messages and data transfer, the ministers also agreed on introducing a cap on SMS retail prices (EUR 0.11 excl. VAT) and setting a limit for wholesale charges on data services. Moreover, operators will be obliged to offer their subscribers the option of setting a cut-off limit for their data services free of charge in order to avoid "bill shocks".
The general idea is to ensure that prices paid by mobile phone users travelling within the Union are not unreasonably high in relation to the prices they pay for calls, SMSes or data transfer in their own countries.
The European Parliament should adopt its opinion on the matter next spring and the new rules are expected to enter into force in July 2009.
More information:
Council Press release(pdf)
Council webcast of press conference
Forthcoming events
Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 28 November
Competitiveness Council, 1 and 2 December
Ecofin Council, 2 December
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