UK Home Secretary to meet EU commissioner on law enforcement cooperation

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will meet the European Union's home affairs commissioner, Magnus Brunner, on Monday in London for further talks on migration, border management, law enforcement cooperation and counter-terrorism. The meeting comes days after Andy Burnham said he wanted the UK to rejoin European law enforcement databases from which it has been shut out since Brexit, the country's departure from the EU.

It is the second meeting between Mahmood and Brunner in two months. Contacts between London and Brussels have increased since Burnham said he would use an upcoming EU-UK summit, due in November, to set out to the country the different options for Britain's long-term relationship with the EU.

Databases on the agenda

The talks will address the UK rejoining some police and security databases and joining Eurodac, a new migration database. Eurodac collects fingerprints and facial images of asylum seekers from the age of six, along with security flags for people linked to terrorism or serious crime. Another system is the Schengen Information System (SIS), which holds data on missing persons, stolen goods, vehicles, number plates and fugitives. According to EU data, about 20 million searches are made on it daily, mostly concerning cars.

Last week Burnham told MPs that one of the most positive aspects of his meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in New York was her openness to restoring data sharing on immigration. He said he hoped to secure a practical arrangement at the November summit.

Brunner's visit

Brunner will also meet Ken McCallum, director general of the MI5 security service, visit the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, and meet senior officials from the UK's child sexual abuse centre. At King's College London he will give a lecture on the EU's new Pact on Migration and Asylum, a framework of 10 pieces of legislation changing how the bloc manages its borders, processes asylum applications and shares information between member states.

Brunner says the reforms are already having a significant effect, pointing to a 43% fall in small boats crossing the Channel, according to the latest Frontex data. He said illegal crossings at the EU's external borders are down 55% over two years. The Home Office has not commented.