Gordon Brown, of the EU’s current presiding nation Britain, after chairing his first meeting of the bloc’s economy and finance ministers, has been addressing not only reform economic shake-ups but security matters. He says financial detective work helps keep Europe safe: “Our research, our action to try to identify money transaction which are taking place across borders has given us vital and important information about what potential terrorists and terrorists are doing.” Foreign minister Jack Straw, also in Brussels, talked about controversial proposals to keep telephone call data. This aspect of anti-terrorism cooperation has also gathered interest in the wake of the London bomb attacks. Straw said: “Some mobile telephone operators and some internet service providers already keep these data, as a matter of in-house policy or accident. Maybe some cost, but surely a cost we ought to pay for the preservation of human life.” Britain wants the bloc’s justice ministers to discuss this Wednesday accelerating the adoption of new rules on keeping telecommunications data, aiming to get an agreement this year.

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