VIENNA: Austria’s chancellor said on Sunday his country’s intelligence agencies should have greater power to monitor communications on messaging apps to stop extremists after a planned suicide attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna was thwarted this week.
Swift’s three planned concerts were canceled after Austrian authorities got wind of a plot led by a 19-year-old youth to launch an Daesh-inspired suicide attack at a soccer stadium where tens of thousands of fans were planning to attend the shows.
News of the planned attack has reanimated debate over the tight restrictions Austria has in comparison to other western nations on the monitoring of messaging communications just as the country gears up for an election on Sept. 29.
“We really need our agencies to be upgraded technically so they’re on an equal footing with terrorists, with organized crime, so we can combat them,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in an interview with Germany’s Bild newpsper.
“It’s vital that messenger services like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram can be decrypted for security authorities, under judicial oversight, while upholding the rule of law,” added Nehammer, who is seeking re-election next month.
Nehammer, who said Austria received a tip from a foreign intelligence service over the planned Swift attack, said the main suspects so far in the case had been captured.
But he spoke of more arrests being made as police continue investigations among criminal networks. More Daesh supporters had been identified, he said.
Austria chancellor urges more comms monitoring after Taylor Swift plot
https://arab.news/83sm9
Austria chancellor urges more comms monitoring after Taylor Swift plot
- Swift’s three planned concerts were canceled after Austrian authorities got wind of a plot led by a 19-year-old youth to launch an Daesh-inspired suicide attack
- ews of the planned attack has reanimated debate over the tight restrictions Austria has in comparison to other western nations on the monitoring of messaging communications
France demands EU-Mercosur trade pact signing be put off
- “France asks that the deadlines be pushed back to continue work on getting the legitimate measures of protection for our European agriculture,” said the statement
PARIS, France: France on Sunday urged the European Union to postpone the deadlines set for signing a free trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur, rejecting the deal in its current form.
In a statement from Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office, Paris said the conditions were not in place for EU member states to vote on the agreement.
“France asks that the deadlines be pushed back to continue work on getting the legitimate measures of protection for our European agriculture,” said the statement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due in Brazil on Monday for talks to finalize the landmark pact with the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
But Brussels first has to get the approval of the EU member states over the coming week.
“Given a Mercosur summit is announced for December 20 (Saturday), it is clear in this context that the conditions have not been met for any vote (by states) on authorizing the signing of the agreement,” said the statement from Paris.
Earlier Sunday, in an interview published in the Germany financial daily Handelsblatt, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure made France’s objections clear.
“As it stands, the treaty is simply not acceptable,” he said.
Securing robust and effective safeguard clauses was one of the three key conditions France set before giving its blessing to the agreement, he added.
The other key points were requiring the same production standards faced by EU farmers and establishing “import controls.”
“Until we have obtained assurances on these three points, France will not accept the agreement,” said Lescure.
European nations are poised to vote on the trade agreement between Tuesday and Friday, according to EU sources.
The European Parliament votes Tuesday on safeguards to reassure farmers — particularly those in France — who are fiercely opposed to the treaty.
If approved, the EU-Mercosur agreement would create a common market of 722 million people.
It is intended to allow the EU to export more cars, machinery, wine, and other goods, and will also facilitate the entry into the European Union of beef, poultry, sugar, honey, and other products.
Farmers in France and some other European countries say it will create unfair competition due to less stringent standards, which they fear could destabilize already fragile European food sectors.
