The U.S. and Germany on Wednesday agreed to bolster anti-terrorism cooperation and share information about suspected terrorists.
The agreement signed in Washington by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch would strengthen the exchange of information about terrorist suspects.
de Maiziere said at a news conference after meeting with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson that “the agreement includes sharing of information about terrorists’ movements and monitoring their potential to travel to Europe under the guise of refugees.
He said the agreement would provide privacy protection and specific data would only be shared on the need to know basis.
“Terrorism is a threat to all of us, therefore, what we have to do is to be steadfast and to cooperate internationally.”
Intelligence cooperation between the U.S. and Germany was damaged following revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency
was collecting data on U.S. and European mobile phones.
After the terrorist attacks in Paris in November and Brussels in March, the U.S. demanded more intensive exchanges of data from European countries and more data flows between European countries.