There seems to be some disagreement

No sooner have the interior ministers of the EU agreed on an ambitious long-term framework for integrating the fight against terrorism (though there seems to be somd doubt as to whose definition of terrorism they will use), but they are disagreeing in private.

According to Agencia Giornalistica Italia, the Italian Minister of Interior, Giuseppe Pisanu, said that the right of initiation should stay with the separate ministers. The role of Gijs de Vries, EU anti-terrorism co-ordinator, should be just that: to co-ordinate.

"We must be careful, and avoid entrusting the coordinator with these duties, for which he holds no jurisdiction", he said on the sidelines of the European Council for Interior and Justice Affairs. "Initiative powers as regards anti-terrorism measures belong to Interior Ministers, operational ones to EuroPol. The Coordinator must coordinate different activities".

A sideline briefing is always of interest but maybe Sir John Stevens, Metropolitan Police (or, as it likes to be called in these chummy days, MPA) Commissioner, would like to tell us more about the operational powers of EuroPol.