London -- Borderpol, the cross-border lobby group is in talks to form a joint venture with Interpol in a move that could create one of the world's biggest data banks covering international terrorism.
In an exclusive interview, Thomas Tass, chief executive of Budapest-based Borderpol confirmed that talks with Interpol, the international police organisation, began in February. "We are hoping to sign a co-operation agreement of some sort next year at the latest", Tass said.
The chief executive stressed that talks were still at an early stage, but added that the two institutions were close to thrashing out a draft agreement. "We're getting there - we are in the process of building our credibility in terms of financial strength."
Tass added that the policy group, which is part-funded by the Hungarian Government was looking for additional funding of up to E500,000 in order to proceed towards a deal.
Borderpol was launched in 1997, partly to foster greater co-operation between individual border police forces and partly to bolster international legislation to crackdown on the burgeoning trade in people smuggling.
News of a joint venture comes amid mounting frustration at the lack of co-operation between individual border police forces and rising fears that the next wave of terror attacks in Europe could come from extreme fundamentalists already based within the European Union.
"We need a totally new approach to border policing. The atrocities of July 7 taught us that a leading member of the Group of Eight nations is now capable of nurturing its own cell of suicide bombers. That means nationality and place of birth are no longer relevant from a security perspective."
Tass also accepted that the London bombings appeared to raise grave doubts over the way borders in Europe are policed: "One has to concede that at least one suspect involved in the second wave of attacks on London evaded capture at the borders of the UK, France and Italy - despite a massive manhunt."
However, the Borderpol chief cautioned policymakers from over-reacting to current flaws in the system. "It's vital that the message gets across that slamming the doors shut on borders is no longer the cure-all that some governments once believed - especially if the people that present the most threat have lived their whole lives within your national boundaries."
Political thinking is currently in a state of flux. In the US, advisers to President Bush are perplexed at what they see as a confused approach by the Government to the London bombings. To Americans, it is surprising that the heavily armed men and women patrolling the departure lounges at Heathrow Airport are policemen, not soldiers. While the President has accepted that America is at war, Tony Blair appears to be signalling that the problem is a criminal one.
The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank behind some of President Bush's most radical policies, recently suggested that the US again take matters into its own hands, by abolishing the visa waiver programme, which allows Britons as well as citizens from 27 other countries to travel to the US for up to three months without the need for a visa.
Reuel Gerecht, a security analyst at the institute dismissed claims that the controversial move would damage the "special relationship" between Britain and the US: "The transatlantic crowd in Washington might rise in high dudgeon at the damage this could do to US-European relations... but the US enjoyed perfectly amicable relations with Europe when we required all Europeans to obtain visas before crossing our borders. Issuing visas to Europeans would be an annoying inconvenience for all; it would not, however, be an insult."
In the UK, Government critics are rallying their campaign around calls for a sweeping overhaul of British border controls. David Cameron, a Conservative MP who sat on the Home affairs Select Committee in the wake of the US terror attacks on September 11, 2001, said: "The case for a dedicated border police force, 24-hour security at major ports and embarkation controls is unanswerable."
Under the current system, seven separate agencies monitor Britain's ports. However, serious gaps in border policing remain: 24 of the 35 main terminals are not supervised around the clock, making it impossible to monitor who has come in and who has left. However, aides say that Mr Cameron, too, has not ruled out amendments to the US visa waiver scheme.
For Tass, it is an idea whose time has come: "When you are talking security you have to bite the bullet and suspend all visa waiver programmes. Capitol Hill would love it, but Europeans might claim that innocent travellers were being penalised in the war on terror. The deadlock presents a challenge, but it is not beyond resolution - after all, in the days of Queen Mary, everyone needed a visa to travel to the US and everyone was screened as a result."
