EU must tackle 'inclusiveness' says former anti-terror coordinator

Gijs de Vries has voiced concern over a "rising tide" of xenophobia in Europe.

The former anti-terror coordinator says he is also concerned about a growing trend towards increased protectionism in America.

The former deputy Dutch interior minister was speaking on Monday at the annual conference of the European Policy Centre, a leading Brussels-based think tank.

Addressing a "State of the Union" debate, de Vries said he wanted to use the event to highlight what he sees as a "rising tide" of xenophobia in certain European countries.

He said, “Recent events show that we need to reflect on the concept of `inclusiveness` of all EU citizens. Crucially, this should apply to people who were born outside the borders of the EU as well as those born inside the EU."

Turning to another issue he sought to highlight - transatlantic relations - de Vries, who served as the EU’s counter-terror coordinator from 2004-07, said he was concerned about a similar 'rising tide´ of trade protectionism in America.

He said it was particularly disturbing that this was the policy being pursued by both John McCain and Barack Obama, the two candidates most likely to contest November’s presidential elections.

"Generally, the current American presidential campaign gives us the chance to reflect on what sort of relationship the EU wants with the US," he said.

"Certainly, one worrying aspect is that, apparently, three out of five Americans believe that free trade agreements are a bad thing for the US.

"This is a real problem because I believe it is crucial we keep open the international trade system.

"Increased protectionism will hit jobs on both sides of the Atlantic."

De Vries, who stepped down from his EU post for personal reasons and is now a senior fellow with the Dutch Institute of International Relations, was a keynote speaker at the EPC event.

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