Even on the question of the third pillar, which governs co-operation in justice and home affairs, Britain is not isolated.
Lynch mentioned Operation Scales of Justice, the beefed-up presence of forces in Baghdad that started in the middle of the last month.
They called for the First and Deputy First Ministers to report on protocols on national security, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the independence of the judiciary and Public Prosecution Service, and co-operation on criminal justice.
When Congress originally asked the Justice Department about the operation last year, it first denied that the ATF had permitted any smuggling to proceed before reversing itself ten months later.
"While the Committee has subpoenaed documents that address what senior officials were told about controversial gunwalking tactics during Operation Fast and Furious, the Justice Department pointedly refuses to provide them or to deny senior officials were given information in the course of the Operation indicating the existence of reckless tactics, " a spokesman for Issa said Wedneday.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Justice Department have launched "Operation Crash" using undercover agents and electronic surveillance in an effort to stop the black market trade in rhino horns, which has led to poaching and has reduced the world's rhino population by more than 90 percent since 1970.
It also wants more information on which senior Justice Department officials knew about the operation and who approved it, as well as why the various law enforcement agencies allegedly failed to communicate with each other about the operation.
Closer co-operation in dealing with victims across the whole criminal justice system.
Thorough congressional investigations would no doubt help reveal the extent of the operation, and the criminal investigation announced by the Justice Department on Tuesday may prove fruitful as well.
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Representative Issa is certain that most top Justice Department officials knew about the Fast and Furious operation.
John Burbeck, spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the operation would "target persistent offenders, reinforce the administration of justice and collect money owed to the courts and compensation owed to victims".
If it decides not to, the country which has led Europe in designing and implementing criminal-justice policies risks losing not only rapid co-operation and information but also influence over a fast-growing body of EU law.
David Sherborne, representing Ms McDonagh, told Mr Justice Vos that in June 2012, officers from Operation Tuleta - Scotland Yard's investigation into privacy breaches including the alleged hacking of computer and mobile phones - had "obtained evidence" that the Sun had accessed her text messages from about October 2010.
In the first ruling of its kind in the UK, Mr Justice Johnson said he made his decision to approve the operation on the grounds that if the girls were not separated, both would die within months.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for obstruction of justice and perjury in the investigation into the leak of a CIA operation officer's identity.
Last month, Boehner, other House GOP leaders, and Issa sent Holder a letter saying the committee had narrowed the scope of its request to documents showing internal discussions among senior DOJ officials and any materials generated after February 4, 2011, when the Justice Department initially gave Congress what Issa calls misleading accounts about the operation.
David Ford, justice minister and chair of the Organised Crime Task Force, accompanied officers during the operation.
In Operation Delego the US authorities co-operated closely with EU crime-fighters, including the justice agency Eurojust and police agency Europol.
Issa has accused the attorney general of stonewalling an investigation into Fast and Furious and how the Justice Department came to state to Congress that no improper tactics were used in the operation.
The Justice Department has defended the actions, saying that a leak to the news organization about a 2012 counterterrorism operation put Americans at risk and required an aggressive response.
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