ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the exchange of information beyond the European borders. The chapter examines the great external influences, especially from the US, on current European Union (EU) counter-terrorism measures. It explores the data protection safeguards for transfers carried out between the EU and a third country. The external dimension of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) as defined in Tampere was not supposed to be an independent policy, but rather an action complementing the internal AFSJ. Police agents who are part of a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) mission often gather intelligence and pass it to agencies concerned with internal security and Member States' law enforcement officers. The EU has developed many partnerships with strategic countries for co-operating in the exchange of crime-related information. Many US agencies included international relations departments and, simultaneously, the Directorate General (DG) Justice and Home Affairs(JFA) in the European Commission enhanced its external competences.
