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Michel Barnier stated that the Prime Minister has accepted that future police and judicial cooperation must be supported by the European Convention on Human Rights. The Brussels diplomat said this has paved the way for finalizing the terms of a deal that will make it easier for Britain to extradite terrorists and exchange criminal data with the bloc. A deal has been nearing completion for more than a month since Lord Frost first noted that the UK would soften its stance.
Barnier told MEPS last Friday: “We are almost in agreement on judicial and police cooperation.”
“The British have accepted the prerequisites that we set out in the European Convention on Human Rights,” he added, according to the Daily Mail.
“Now we can finalize those points.”
Lord Frost, the prime minister’s chief negotiator with Brussels, had previously told the House of Lords that the challenge was how to include a compromise with the ECHR in the legal text.
Britain has previously rejected EU demands to implement a pledge to maintain ECHR membership in national law as the price of the internal security pact.
The ECHR is an international agreement drawn up by the Council of Europe and enforced by the European Court of Human Rights based in Strasbourg.
A government spokesperson said: “The UK remains committed to the ECHR – we have been clear about it time and time again, including in Parliament.
“We agree that cooperation with the EU must be based on our shared values of respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law.
“The UK’s approach to these issues in the context of law enforcement builds on the precedent of the EU’s agreements with third countries in this area.”
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The government has announced a 24-hour monitoring center that it says will help crack down on organized crime, terrorism and abuse of the immigration system.
The Brexit transition agreements end on December 31, but talks are still underway about the future relationship to replace them.
Driven by France, demands for widespread access to UK fishing waters remain the main obstacle.
Downing Street insists its negotiating position will not change.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “We want to try to reach a free trade agreement as soon as possible. But we have been clear that we will not change our negotiating position and we have been clear about what that position is.”
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