EU to work together on terrorism

The next three EU presidencies will work closely together on strengthening Europe’s defences against terrorism, Germany's interior minister has announced.

Following talks with his Portuguese and Slovenian counterparts in Berlin, Wolfgang Schäuble said the three countries would also focus on illegal immigration, police cooperation and religious dialogue.

“There is a great deal of agreement,” Schäuble said.

Germany’s presidency of the EU kicks off in January 2007, followed by Portugal in July and Slovenia in January 2008.

In a joint statement, the three countries said they will focus on realising existing initiatives rather than starting new ones.

They want to strengthen counter-terrorism by improving cross-border cooperation and information-sharing between European security forces.

They also plan to improve monitoring of the internet and make it a criminal offence to post instructions on making bombs.

On illegal immigration, the three countries say they want tighter regulations on visas and harmonisation of Europe’s asylum policy.

The EU's new external borders agency Frontex "must in future be able to instruct and coordinate national border police forces so that illegal entries on our common external border become the exception," the statement said.

• Previous article
• Next article