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Former CIA Director Michael Hayden Seemingly Supports "Brexit" For Security Reasons
Michael Hayden has suggested that a British exit from the European Union could enhance UK's security [bbc.com]:
A former CIA director has said the European Union "in some ways gets in the way" of security services, as the debate continues over whether the UK would be safer in or out of the EU. Retired general Michael Hayden told the BBC the union was "not a natural contributor to national security".
Home Secretary Theresa May has said there are "good reasons" on the security front to stay in the EU. An in-out referendum on UK membership of the EU takes place on 23 June. Security has been a key argument in the debate so far, with In campaigners saying being in the EU makes the UK safer, and Out campaigners arguing the opposite. It has intensified following Tuesday's terror attacks on Brussels, which claimed 31 lives. Former MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove said EU-based security bodies were of "little consequence" and that leaving the EU could boost Britain's security. But the former head of GCHQ, Sir David Omand, has said the UK enjoys the best of both worlds by staying in - remaining part of an established information-sharing network while still retaining control of the border.
EU lawmakers are skeptical of a new data-sharing agreement with the U.S. [bna.com]:
European Union lawmakers and privacy officials expressed skepticism March 17 that the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield pact will prove a viable replacement for the invalidated U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework.
At a hearing on Privacy Shield held by the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE), lawmakers said that there seemed to be inadequate safeguards against U.S. intelligence agency bulk collection of EU citizen's personal data transferred to the U.S. by companies. Lawmakers also said that an U.S. State Department ombudsman—to be created within the Privacy Shield pact to hear EU citizens complaints about U.S. government surveillance of their data—has insufficient legal standing and independence.
