Support for EU terror proposals
Greece backed an agreement yesterday between EU justice and interior ministers to force telecommunications companies to keep phone and e-mail records for a minimum of six months so they can be used in terrorist and criminal investigations. Athens had previously expressed some concern about the measures but ultimately was not one of four members (Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ireland) that opposed the proposals during yesterday’s meeting in Brussels. Justice Minister Anastassis Papaligouras said that the flexibility in implementing the measures had been one of the main elements that convinced Greece to support the agreement. «Greece will be able to add to its national legislation effective limits and guarantees for the use of records of electronic communication,» said Papaligouras, explaining that it would be up to each member state to decide whether the records were kept for anywhere between six months and two years. Papaligouras said the deal would allow authorities to view logs of phone calls and e-mail messages but not their content.
