EU leaders discuss anti-terror measures

BERLIN (AA) - EU leaders discussed on Tuesday anti-terror measures in Europe in the wake of recent attacks in France and Austria.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who initiated the video summit, called for tightening controls at EU’s external borders, and a closer security cooperation between the member states.

“Any security loophole in one member state is a security risk for all the others,” Macron said at a joint news conference after the meeting, proposing reform on the rules of EU’s visa-free Schengen area, and closer cooperation between police and intelligence organizations.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who met Macron in Paris before the online summit, warned that Europe is facing a growing threat due to foreign fighters and religious extremists.

“There are thousands of foreign fighters who joined IS [Daesh] in Syria or Iraq and later returned to Europe,” Kurz said, adding that while many of them were in jail, they would be released in the coming months and years.

“This is like a ticking time bomb. If we want to protect our freedoms, than we have to restrict freedom of these people. It requires robust action against these dangerous people in all European countries, because terrorists do not recognize borders,” he said.

Kurz also urged a Europe-wide response to ideological roots of violent extremism, and argued that Europeans should counter radical groups and “political Islam”.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said hate, extremism, and terrorism were major societal issues faced not only by France and Austria, but all European countries.

“This is not a conflict between Christians and Muslims,” he stressed, and also warned against stigmatizing Muslims and migrants in Europe, while taking actions against extremists.

“We should never create or fuel discourse in our societies by singling out groups of people because of their origin or their religion,” he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also attended the meeting.