European commissioner Antonio Vittorino announced the launch of a European cybercrime forum on Tuesday, following a recommendation contained in the EC draft convention on cybercrime. In his keynote speech at EuroISPA's conference on Internet security in Brussels, the Justice and Home Affairs commissioner revealed plans for a new forum to specifically deal with cybercrime at an international level. Cyber-liberty and cyber-rights advocates are positive about public interest groups being invited to join the discussion group. The EC white paper says, "the Commission will establish and chair an EU Forum in which law enforcement agencies, service providers, network operators, consumer groups and data protection authorities will be brought together with the aim of enhancing cooperation at EU level by raising public awareness on the risks posed by criminals on the Internet". Yaman Akdeniz, director of Cyber Rights and Cyber Liberties, is hopeful that membership of the forum will be extended to include public interest groups such as his own. "The proposal reads as if it is suggesting a transparent forum -- normally public interest groups are excluded, but if the EC sticks to the draft wording, the forum would include law enforcement bodies, industry representatives as well as other interested parties," said Akdeniz. There have recently been a range of efforts at an international level to crackdown on cybercrime. "The forum will need to coordinate all of these international efforts and inform interested parties at a European level," argued Akdeniz. A full report on the EuroISPA conference to follow.. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Click on the TalkBack button and go to the ZDNet News forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom. And read other letters.