EU to shake up anti-terror fight

1.00pm

BRUSSELS - A register of convicts, a database of "terrorists" and better tracing of weapons and explosives are among new proposals from the European Commission to help the fight against terrorism.

The plans, presented on Thursday, come in response to calls for tougher EU action after last week's Madrid bombings and fears Islamic militants are now targeting Europe.

They also call for better information sharing between national intelligence services through a "clearing house" -- but not a "European CIA" as proposed by EU states such as Belgium.

An emergency meeting of European Union justice and interior ministers will discuss the proposals on Friday before a meeting of EU leaders next week, where terrorism is set to overshadow scheduled talks on economic reform.

"The terrorists responsible for the attacks in Madrid struck against the fundamental principles of all European Union states and on which the Union is built," the EU executive said in an action paper, drafted in response to the devastating attacks.

"Priority is now on coordinating operational action," it said. "The exchange of information among and between national authorities and at EU level must be dramatically improved."

Exchange of intelligence, the Commission proposed, should focus on how terrorist organisations recruit new members, identification of "sleeping cells" and terrorist groups' sources of funding, and their links outside the EU.

The EU executive also wants to find out if the bloc has the right means to monitor and trace bomb-making materials such as explosives, detonators and radioactive sources and precursors.

"Detection and traceability should become our keywords here. The tracing and checking of dangerous goods and explosives should be made possible by creating new databases or upgrading existing databases," the Commission said.

EU leaders are likely to appoint a Union-wide security coordinator at their summit next week.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has proposed a civil servant in the Council of Ministers, where governments meet, should co-ordinate EU efforts.

"I think it's a good idea," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told RFI radio on Thursday.

"We already have a lot of things in our favour in the fight against terrorism and have made much progress," Villepin said, adding that work still needed to be done by the EU to co-ordinate national action "at the technical level".

- REUTERS