ACCESSION NUMBER:00000 FILE ID:95110203.WWE DATE:11/02/95 TITLE:02-11-95 U.S. AND EU TO COOPERATE IN FIGHTING TRANSNATIONAL CRIME TEXT: (Will be discussed at upcoming Madrid summit) (500) By David Pitts USIA Staff Writer Airlie, Virginia -- The United States "stands ready to form a partnership with the European Union (EU)) to deal with the problem of transnational crime," Mark Richard, an assistant U.S. attorney general, said November 2. Speaking at a two-day conference on U.S.-EU issues, titled "Transatlantic Ties and Tensions," Richard, who oversees the international enforcement effort in the criminal division of the Justice Department, said the issue will be on the agenda at the upcoming Madrid summit, which President Clinton will attend. Richard underlined Clinton's view that "the growing problem of transnational crime is a national security issue" for the United States as well as members of the EU. The main focus is organized criminal activity across frontiers, the threat of international terrorism, and transborder narcotics trafficking, he explained. The U.S. official welcomed bilateral cooperation with the EU to fight transnational crime, but at the same time he said he hoped such emerging cooperation "will not upset bilateral relations with individual EU member nations because they have been very effective" in the area of fighting international crime. But the current threat "poses unique challenges and requires us to question traditional ways of responding," Richard said. Current mechanisms for investigating, detecting, and prosecuting crimes "are inadequate" in view of increasing criminal activity across frontiers; greater cooperation is required, he added. Richard outlined the problem areas that U.S.-EU cooperation is focusing on: -- Widely different extradition laws among the nations involved. "No country should be a sanctuary for criminals," he remarked. -- Lack of effective data exchange. "Rapid exchange of information and intelligence is needed," he noted. He welcomed the introduction of Europol (an EU-wide information system on criminal activity that recently has been established) and underlined the importance of Interpol, the European police agency, with which U.S. law enforcement agencies have built "good relations." -- Flawed prosecution of transnational criminals because of lack of "common evidentiary techniques." He called for a common approach by all countries toward such tools as wiretaps, undercover activities, and sting operations, with appropriate safeguards to protect civil liberties. -- Coordination problems among law enforcement agencies and foreign affairs ministries, intelligence units. The fight against transnational crime "requires adequate coordination" among these agencies nationally and among their counterparts overseas, he said. -- Duplicate assistance programs by the United States and the EU to countries requiring law enforcement assistance, particularly in Central Europe. "This needs to be addressed so that assistance can have the maximum effect," he said, suggesting a clearinghouse as one way of addressing the problem. Richard described these issues as being "at the cutting edge of law enforcement and national security." Proposals by law enforcement experts both in the United States and the EU on these and other issues have been readied for discussion in Madrid, he added. NNNN