The European Commission will adopt a package of new anti-terrorism measures this autumn as all sources indicate that the threat of new terrorist attacks continues to be high, said Franco Frattini, European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security, on Wednesday.
In a speech at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Frattini also said that the European Commission will continue "to be fully committed to the implementation of the EU counter-terrorism strategy."
"Our political goal remains to strike the right balance between the fundamental right to security of citizens, which is first, right to life, and the other fundamental rights of individuals, including privacy and procedural rights," he added.
Frattini's remarks came after Denmark and Germany foiled terrorist attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
He said that the new package will consist of an EU Action Plan on the security of explosives, a proposal for an amendment of the Framework Decision on terrorism to deal with terrorist use of the internet, and an EU Passengers Name Record (PNR) policy. In addition, the package will contain a report on the evaluation of the implementation by the EU member states of the Framework Decision on terrorism.
"The EU action plan on explosives is a follow-up to the 2005 Commission communication on this topic, and aims to ... improve the explosives situation in Europe," he elaborated.
He said he had received around 50 valuable recommendations to improve the security of explosives, precursors and detonators across the EU.
"These recommendations will form the basis for the EU Action Plan, which should be adopted in November," he said.
Among the recommendations are the setting up of an EU explosives database at Europol, with links to the responsible services in the EU member states, and an early warning system so that these services are informed quickly for example when explosives have been stolen.
Another element of the package of measures relates to a European policy on PNR. Reflection on the details of the proposal is still ongoing but the commission's main intention is to ensure that each EU member state collects the PNR records, processes them and, where appropriate, exchanges them with others, said Frattini.
He said the European Commission's goal will be "to strengthen, not to weaken our ability to prevent and prosecute terrorism in a more effective way."
He stressed the importance of exchange of information between EU member states and the EU institutions, terming it "an essential aspect of the fight against terrorism."
Meanwhile, he made proposals on enhancing mutual trust in anti- terrorism cooperation: first through ensuring there is a clear and appropriate legal framework in place which provides confidence that information supplied will be treated in an appropriate manner, and secondly through stimulating as many shared international experiences as possible, including joint training exercises, so that people working in the field get to know and appreciate each other.
Frattini also called for joint action and dedication from the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission in combating terrorism.
Source: Xinhua
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