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Telecommunications companies in the EU will have to keep records of phone-calls, emails and other forms of electronic communication. The reason is not at all new: fighting against terrorism. Justice Ministers of the EU countries who met in Brussels agreed to implement laws in this regard during the second half of the year during UK’s presidency of the EU.

It is not eavesdropping. We don’t want the content of the interview. What we want is the phone numbers and times that can well serve in fighting against crime. Slovakia supports this stance.

Says Slovak Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic, who however did not specify what he meant by Slovakia, since its citizens are very sensitive when it comes to infringement of privacy. Lipsic explained that the measures should start with better monitoring of the internet that is often used by terrorist groups. However, some ministers argued by high costs for the telecom companies. When asked for example, the minister said SMS messages could be kept for 3 months. The basic idea was brought up as a reaction to the bomb attacks in Madrid commuter train last year.