Paris and Madrid in Cross-border Police Deal

Armed police officers from Spain and France will operate in each other's countries to tackle terrorism and drug-trafficking under the terms of a groundbreaking agreement signed yesterday by President Jacques Chirac and the Spanish prime minister, José María Aznar.

The agreement, which provides for the creation of joint units in both countries, is the most far-reaching yet signed by EU states as they seek new ways to tackle international crime.

Police from both sides of the frontier will be able to make arrests and conduct investigations, including court-approved telephone taps, in the other country.

The deal goes well beyond the existing "hot pursuit" agreements between some EU countries, which allow forces to continue pursuing criminals who cross the open borders of the Schengen area.

The agreement creates Europe's first "joint investigation teams", a concept agreed at a meeting of EU interior ministers last year.

The teams, which may include public prosecutors and court officials, will enable evidence gathered by a French police officer in Spain to be presented in a Spanish court, and vice versa.

"It is an extraordinarily useful instrument," said the Spanish interior minister, Angel Acebes, after the agreement was signed at a meeting in the French town of Carcassonne.

Spain has been behind many of the anti-terrorist measures adopted by the EU since the September 11 attacks, and has adapted its legislation to allow the joint investigation teams to operate. Spanish sources said France would be doing so shortly, and the teams would be operating in January.

Their main targets will be the armed Basque separatist group Eta, which has its headquarters in France but carries out attacks in Spain, and armed Islamist groups.

"Both terrorism and organised crime have clear transnational elements, with the criminals benefiting from the lack of coordination between countries," the Spanish interior ministry said.

Although the Spanish and French police already cooperate against Eta, Spanish agents can currently only act as observers in operations against the group in France.

France has arrested dozens of Eta suspects in recent years, and according to rumours circulating in Spain the group may call a ceasefire in the coming months. But the fight against Eta remains a priority for Mr Aznar's rightwing People's party government, and the new teams are an important part of the policy.

There have also been connections between French- and Spanish-based Islamist groups, and many Spanish police operations against them are based on information from Paris.

Under the terms of last year's EU agreement police officers working in other countries are obliged to operate under that country's rules.

Spanish officials said their officers working in France would in effect become French officers; but Spain would be "liable for any damage caused" by rogue officers or mistakes, including payments to "victims or persons entitled on their behalf".

If the investigating officers committed any criminal offence in France they would be liable to prosecution there and would receive the same treatment as a French police officer.

Although the teams are to dedicate themselves to combating people-smuggling, drug trafficking and terrorism, the evidence they gather may be used "for detecting, investigating and prosecuting other criminal offences" and "for preventing an immediate and serious threat to public security".