[JURIST] After last week's bombings in London, UK foreign minister Jack Straw [official profile] has joined with European Union justice commissioner Franco Frattini [official website] in calling for new EU rules to allow government access to telecommunications data [AFP report]. "I believe that provided there are proper safeguards that no one's civil liberties are threatened by retention and access to data, but the protection of everybody is more greatly enhanced," Straw said. Frattini has also proposed the creation of an info-sharing network between EU nations; both proposals are expected to be debated [AP report] at a Wednesday meeting of EU ministers called in response to the bombings. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Goron Brown has has also called for stepped up EU-wide efforts to provide for the seizure of terror-related assets. BBC News has more.