Gijs de Vries

The idea is to have global standards. There is so much travel that if you just had a regional standard, it would probably ultimately have to be changed.

I have never come across a technology that doesn't change. This is inevitable. You have to adapt your systems as technology develops.

Terrorists have failed to trigger mass conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe. We should draw strength from that fact.

You can't get closer to the heart of national sovereignty than national security and intelligence services.

In intelligence work, there are limits to the amount of information one can share. Confidentiality is essential.

In the fight against terrorism, national agencies keep full control over their police forces, security and intelligence agencies and judicial authorities.

I remain optimistic. What we've seen in Europe and the rest of the world is that freedom has a much stronger attraction than radical fundamentalism.