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EU Ministers Meet to Discuss Ongoing Terror Threat

16 August 2006

Home Secretary John Reid and Kari Rajamaki, representing the Finnish Presidency of the EU, today hosted a meeting of EU interior ministers and the European Commission, to discuss recent developments in the ongoing investigation into the alleged aviation terror plot and to discuss how the EU can enhance Member States' efforts to combat terrorism.

At the meeting Ministers identified areas where progress needed to be accelerated under the EU's Counter-Terrorism Action Plan. They agreed that it was now time to turn words into action.

Home Secretary John Reid, said:

"Terrorism affects us all, individually and collectively, as nations and as a Union. The events of last week demonstrated that terrorist groups are constantly seeking new ways of attacking our societies. My colleagues know that their citizens face the same threat that we do and today we stood shoulder to shoulder in our determination to fight it.

"Protecting our citizens is our main duty and we must not allow terrorists to undermine the common European values that bind our societies together and which make us strong. Today, we agreed to accelerate the plans we have adopted so far, delivering concrete measures and in particular we committed to fund initial research into the detection of liquid explosives. This will mean sustained work, driven by successive EU Presidencies, but I am confident that my colleagues will show the leadership needed for Europe to play its part in the long fight against terrorism."

During the meeting the Home Secretary and his European colleagues set out how work in this area will be taken forward from this point onwards. In particular they emphasised the need:

for urgent work to prevent EU citizens turning to terrorism through radicalisation and recruitment;
for new standards of protective security to be adopted at European airports;
for research into explosives, which should be targeted at work on liquid explosives;
to tackle the use of the internet by terrorists to radicalise young people, spread messages of hate and plan mass murder; and
to pre-empt the terrorists’ next plot. Terrorists will already be trying to identify the next weak spot in our security to exploit.

Following the meeting, Ministers agreed a joint statement giving their full support to the plans proposed by the Presidency and the Commission to tackle terrorism. EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers will discuss the issue together at the Informal JHA Council in Tampere, Finland, from 20-22 September.

Notes to Editors

The Home Secretary met Interior Ministers from the current and future holders of the EU Presidency: Kari Rajamaki of Finland, Wolfgang Schaeuble of Germany, Jose Magalhaes of Portugal, Dragutin Mate of Slovenia and Nicholas Sarkozy of France. Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini and EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gijs De Vries also attended.
For the latest information on the Home Office and counter terrorism, see: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
The Government's official Report into 7 July bombings is available at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/7-july-report.pdf (new window)
For information regarding Finland’s Presidency of the EU, see: www.eu2006.fi
EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy at: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/05/st14/st14469-re04.en05.pdf
Information regarding the UK’s Presidency in 2005 is available at: www.eu2005.gov.uk

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