EU internal affairs commissioner Magnus Brunner is calling for greater European autonomy in both internal and external security. He said on Tuesday at a conference that brings together the “Tagesspiegel”, “Zeit”, “Handelsblatt” and “Wirtschaftswoche”, that a “security mindset” must be embedded across all policy domains at the EU level. “Europe is today the safest place in the world, but we should not become complacent” Brunner added.
He argued that security is the fundamental prerequisite for both economic competitiveness and political freedom, and therefore must be integrated everywhere-from energy policy to migration challenges. Brunner noted that cooperation within Europe has improved significantly in recent years, yet the international information exchange, for instance between Europol and Interpol, still has room for development. “The line between internal and external security is blurring” he observed.