Will Brexit impact intelligence sharing with EU?

London,June 23: It is Britain and not the United States of America which continues to be the favourite target for Jihadis. Most of the foreign fighters of the ISIS are from Britain.

To fight an outfit such as the ISIS, intelligence is one of the key factors. The question is how will Brexit or a British withdrawal from the European Union affect intelligence sharing?
There is unlikely to be any set back.

However, Britain would need to quickly move and form a new intelligence sharing mechanism with Europe in the interest of security.

There are likely to be some disruptions to cooperation with Europe as Britain will no longer be part of the Europol which was a fusion centre that had recently been created.

Britain still part of the Five Eyes:

Britain was the only European nation to be part of Five Eyes Intelligence Sharing Community comprising the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Britain's intelligence network was the largest in Europe. Despite its exit from the EU, it will continue to be part of the Five Eyes community. Prior to Brexit, Britain never directly shared the intelligence by Five Eyes with its European partners.

There is also an argument that the sharing of intelligence between Britain and the EU may suffer to a certain extent. Although the intelligence sharing between Britain the EU has always remained bi-lateral, some argue that it would not be the same now. Bilateral arrangements are different compared to institutional arrangements.

Terrorists will still have Britain on its radar:

The ISIS has said in almost every propaganda material that its prime target is Europe. Now with Britain exiting the EU, does it make the country less of a potential target. The answer is no and Britain will continue to remain very high on the hit list of terrorist organisations.

Britain has not been under the terror radar because it was part of the EU. Its policies have been one of the reason for terrorists attempting strikes in Britain. Further terrorists have also targeted Britain for its close military cooperation with the US and NATO.

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