Discreet and discretionary: the development of EU JHA databases and the problematisation of integration

Among the many nuances that the concept of secrecy encompasses, this contribution seeks to explore the notions of discreetness and discretion. Both notions share the same etymological root with secrecy, namely the Latin verb secernere, to separate or set apart. The discussion of discreetness and discretion is grounded here in an examination of EU activities in the field of internal security, with a particular focus on the development of databases in the field of justice and home affairs. The decision upon and development of border control systems such as the second-generation Schengen Information System, and more recently of the EU Passenger Name Records or Terrorist Finance Tracking systems have spurred significant controversies for having been removed from the ‘normal’ unfolding of supranational integration in the EU. How can we interpret this separateness? Does it reflect the exceptional quality of EU security politics, conducted through secrecy and among representatives of the executive branch only? Or should this separateness lead us to problematise what we understand by the ‘normal’ course of supranational integration in the EU?