ninme

The Telegraph - Arrested thinking

We are even seeing the creation of a new category of crimes that would be tried, not under any national law, but under the direct authority of the Union - rather as, in the US, there are state and federal offences.

All this is being done in the name of counter-terrorism. But few, if any, of these initiatives would have the slightest impact on the bombers. Indeed, most of the ideas were conceived in the 1980s as part of the scheme to give the EU the attributes and trappings of statehood. Unfortunately, the current climate allows them to be re-labelled as “security measures”, thus making people reluctant to oppose them.

Of course, if the EU were serious about fighting terrorism, it would add Hezbollah to its proscribed list. It would not seek to ban extradition to the US (under the Charter of Fundamental Rights, it would be illegal to deport suspects to states where they might face execution). It would sanction Iran instead of seeking “constructive engagement” with the mullahs.

But terrorism is the last thing the federalists are thinking about. Remember one thing when you next hear it claimed that Brussels needs new powers in the wake of the liquid bomb plot: the current system worked.