Germany, France Sign Anti-Terror Accords
By MELISSA EDDY
Associated Press Writer
February 10, 2003, 5:30 PM EST
KEHL, Germany -- Germany and France pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" in the fight against terror Monday, as they signed accords to share more information on terror suspects.
Both countries have worked together in a joint police and customs center since 1999, but the agreements signed Monday by German Interior Minister Otto Schily and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy marked a move toward stronger cooperation.
"Only when the security services stand shoulder to shoulder can we truly fight against international terrorism and cross-border crime," Schily said at the opening of the center's new headquarters in the Rhine River border town of Kehl.
Under the accord, joint French-German police teams are to patrol along the 275-mile shared border. The ministers said they also intend to give police the power to arrest suspects on each others' territory.
"Borders don't exist for criminals, and soon they won't exist for police either," Sarkozy said.
The agreement allows French and German officials to share more information on the profiling of terror suspects. The two also will share fingerprints and eye scans.
Since the center's inception four years ago, the number of cooperation requests has tripled. Last year, more than 9,000 were processed.
Cooperation between French and German police led to the arrest in late 2000 of a Frankfurt-based group of Algerians who were allegedly plotting to attack the Christmas market in the border city of Strasbourg, France. They have been standing trial since April in a Frankfurt court.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
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