309. When we asked the Home Secretary what progress was being made with regard to discussions on UK access to the Passenger Names Records and EU INTCEN, she confirmed that discussions were still ongoing, but suggested that it was very much a case of business as usual when it came to co-operation with the EU on operational issues:
tackling the day to day around serious and organised crime and terrorism and protecting the public and also bringing criminals to justice, that work continues along with the dialogue at a member state level as well. So not a commission level, I should emphasise this, at a member state level.[1]
So we have, you mentioned the Schengen Information Systems, we have to return to tried and tested mechanisms around cooperation, I've mentioned bilateral channels, I've mentioned Interpol, which were already in use, as you'll be well aware, around the rest of the world and used in member states up until 2015.
So these ways of working, circulation, diffusion notices, they're all there and we continue with that, I have to say, very strong and excellent working relationships that have, you know, really come together over a long period of time.[2]
U. It is encouraging that the strong operational relationships built up over the years by the Intelligence Community and police with their European counterparts continue to develop in the post-Brexit era. Whilst most capacity has not been affected, we remain concerned about possible loss of access to some important capabilities, such as Passenger Names Records. We emphasise the need for ongoing discussion on alternative arrangements to succeed.
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