The European Union has slapped new security screening on imports from Bangladesh, a move that is likely to make it costlier for businesses in the South Asian country to sell products to EU nations.

Just over half of Bangladeshi exports go to the European bloc, accounting for $18.68 billion in revenues during the last fiscal year. Those shipments, by air or sea, will now have to be screened by bomb-detecting dogs and devices.

Bangladesh has none of these facilities, so cargo will have to be routed through a third country where security screening is possible.

The move makes Bangladesh the 13th country designated as “-high risk” for EU commerce. It was unexpected, according to Bangladeshi government officials, who said they were given no explanation when informed Monday of the change. The EU ambassador’s office in Dhaka did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last year, Britain, Germany and Australia banned direct cargo shipments from Dhaka’s international airport, citing its poor security system.

The country has suffered a string of deadly attacks in recent years claimed by extremists targeting perceived enemies of Islam, including bloggers, rights activists, atheists, religious minorities and foreigners. The government has blamed the attacks on home-grown extremists bent on re-establishing Islamic rule in the secular nation.

The government has offered little comment about the EU move. But Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon criticized Brussels for delivering the news as a surprise, and said the government would work quickly to establish an adequate screening mechanism in the country. But getting everything in place could take months.

Business leaders are worried about the possible delays in screening, when they are already scrambling to fulfill large orders on short notice despite frequent power outages that shut operations down.

Some air shipments from Bangladesh are already being routed through Dubai, Istanbul or Doha for screening, and some sea shipments are going through Colombo or Singapore.

“Fresh screening will take at least 10 days, at a time when we struggle to ship goods timely for many reasons,” said Mir Mobasher Ali, who exports about $50 million in garments to Europe and Canada every year. “We need to count extra amount for the screening in a third country. That’s disastrous for us.”

Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association, representing 70 percent of the textiles industry, also described the move as “disastrous.” During fiscal 2015-16, the garment industry exported $17.15 billion in goods to the EU — 60 percent of the industry’s exports.

 
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“Europe stands by UK in fight against terrorism” tweeted EU Council President Donald Tusk after London was hit by a terror attack Saturday. Britain was also shocked by attacks in March and May.

Cooperation between Europe and Britain on security matters, however, might soon change due to Brexit, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union following a referendum last year.

Saturday’s incident killed seven people and left almost 50 wounded. Islamic State claimed the attackers were part of its terror network and several people were arrested and named.

Andrew Duff is a former liberal Member of the European Parliament and visiting fellow at the European Policy Center. He believes the recent attacks will mean a higher profile for the security aspects during the Brexit talks.

“It should be possible for the UK to negotiate its continuing use of the SIS 2 [Schengen information system] data exchange platform and to continue to be a member of Europol [the EU’s law enforcement agency].,” he said. “But participation will be at a financial cost and strong institutional connections will have to be invented, including recognition of the ultimate judicial authority of the European Court of Justice.”

New face of cooperation

In recent weeks, experts and leading security specialists in Britain have warned about the importance of cooperation on intelligence and security if Britain wants to fight terrorism.

Technically speaking, security issues are not part of the Brexit negotiations, as the European Union wants to first settle issues on citizens’ rights and financial matters before speaking about future cooperation between the bloc and Britain.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was tough in her letter late March that triggered Article 50, the official notification to leave the European Union.

She wrote: “In security terms a failure to reach agreement would mean our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened.”

May has publicly stated that “no deal is better than a bad deal,” but recent events might question that logic.

Rosa Balfour, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Foundation, said when it comes to security, a hard Brexit will affect Britain more than the EU.

“The UK would be more isolated and its ability to deal with security issues, which requires cooperation, would be reduced … where EU member states would continue to cooperate amongst each other,” she said. “… If you’re outside [the EU], you don’t have the institutions and you don’t necessarily have the trust if the [Brexit] negotiations don’t go well.”

Political influences

How much influence the recent attacks have on Britain’s politics will become clear Thursday when national elections are held. May called an election when her party was riding high in polls in the hopes of getting a clear mandate from the public before Brexit negotiations start June 19.

The advantage of her Conservative Party has fallen. Most likely they will even be short of a majority, which will further complicate the exit negotiations.

Claude Moraes is a British Member of the European Parliament for the Labor Party and chairs the parliament committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs. He said security will be one of the issues during the coming negotiations, but not the main one.

“The prime minister made a very political statement after the attacks where she talked about a more proactive response, but many of those were about international agreements,” he said. “Like, the internet taking down material which would radicalize potential subjects, and also issues about how terrorists communicate on the internet.”

Moraes urged a close working relationship with the EU, as he believes terrorism can only be countered with an international approach.

One of the approaches Britain could explore on security matters is the deal that Denmark struck with the EU. After a referendum, a majority of the Danish population refused to follow EU justice and home affairs policies. Despite the outcome of the referendum, Denmark will still be allowed indirect access to data and officers will still be posted at Europol headquarters.

Other security matters are moving along in the European Union without Brexit. The EU Commission will share its plans and vision for a common defense fund on Wednesday, a move long pushed back by Britain.
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Poland and Ukraine said Tuesday they are working toward developing a regional gas hub that would end Central and Eastern Europe’s dependence on Russian supplies and keep prices in line with European standards.

The region still relies to some extent on Russian natural gas and has been exposed to political pressure from Moscow, which has at times in the past limited supply volumes or hiked gas prices. Governments in the region have been reducing their imports of gas from Russia and seeking other sources. They have also been trying to become more energy-efficient, a task Ukraine still needs to fully undertake.

Poland is increasingly importing gas from other regions. Its new liquefied natural gas port has received deliveries by sea from Qatar and is expecting a delivery from the United States this week. Poland is also proceeding with a project to bring in North Sea gas.

Poland is sending some of resources on to Ukraine, after the country cut imports from Russia in 2015.

Government officials participating in a Poland-Ukraine Gas Conference on Tuesday said the planned hub should be in place by 2022 on the Polish-Ukrainian border.

“We now have enough infrastructure to move onwards with the hub,” said Serhiy Makohon, deputy head of Ukraine’s oil and gas company, Ukrtrans’haz.
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French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Tuesday the man who attacked a Paris police officer with a hammer Tuesday at the Notre Dame Cathedral shouted “It’s for Syria.”

Collumb told reporters outside the cathedral an identification card found on the attacker indicated he was an Algerian student.

The French prosecutor’s office said its counter-terrorism unit has launched an investigation into the attack, which occurred as officers patrolled the esplanade in front of the cathedral, a popular tourist attraction.

Police security operation underway at Notre Dame

The Paris police department said an officer shot and injured the man after he attacked an officer with a hammer. Collomb said the policeman is in stable condition.

Collomb said the assailant also possessed kitchen knives, an indication of a trend from “very sophisticated” acts of terrorism to “whatever tools or instruments they can find.”

Collomb said the attacker acted on his own. “He was not working in conjunction with any body,” he said.

Collomb said he and other European interior ministers will meet soon to better learn how to coordinate the sharing of intelligence in the fight against terrorism.

Paris remains under high security after several terrorist attacks in recent years, including on law enforcement and security personnel.

In April, an attacker shot at a police van on Paris’ Champs Elysees.  One officer was killed and two others were injured.  The attacker was fatally shot by police.

 
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