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Europes leaders meet on terrorism fight Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V2932.AP-EU-Summit.htmlhttp://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V2932.AP-EU-Summit.html
Europe's Leaders Meet on Terrorism Fight
By ROBERT WIELAARD
Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP)--European leaders meet Thursday to explore ways to bolster their fight against terrorism after the savage rail bombings in Spain this month exposed weaknesses in the continent's defenses.
During a two-day summit, leaders of the 25 current and future members of the European Union were expected to approve the appointment of an ``anti-terrorism czar'' to coordinate security efforts among the member states.
European diplomats said the most likely candidate for the post was Gijs de Vries, a former Dutch deputy interior minister.
The leaders also will study other ways to streamline the sharing of information on threat groups which have penetrated Europe's large Muslim immigrant communities.
Most European officials agree better coordination is needed, but security services in the biggest countries--Britain, France and Germany--have been reluctant to share information widely for fear of security leaks.
Meetings this week of EU interior, justice and foreign ministers produced little enthusiasm for a proposal by Austria and Belgium for a European intelligence agency modeled after the CIA.
Instead, France suggested that the major national intelligence services, which already have close bilateral ties, spearhead the bloc's anti-terrorism campaign.
Nevertheless, the March 11 Madrid bombings, which killed 190 people, sent shock waves across the continent. EU foreign ministers have recommended a June 30 deadline for member states to enact a number of measures adopted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States but not universally enacted.
Those include a Europe-wide arrest warrant to bypass time-consuming extradition proceedings. EU leaders also are expected to approve a NATO-style motion declaring that a terrorist attack against any member state would be considered an attack against all 25 EU countries.
The EU also is expected to warn partner countries outside the bloc that they risk a loss of aid and trade if they do not cooperate fully in the war against terrorism.
EU leaders also will hear from British Prime Minister Tony Blair about his Thursday visit to Libya.
Blair's mission--the first by a British leader since Moammar Gadhafi seized power in 1969--is the Libyan leader's partial reward for dismantling his nuclear weapons program and renouncing terrorism.
Relations improved after Gadhafi's government took responsibility for the bombing of a Pam Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people in 1988.
Union leaders also hoped the summit would successfully reopen talks on a European constitution after Poland said it would be willing to look for a voting rights compromise.
The talks collapsed in December over an arcane voting rights dispute, pitting Poland and Spain against the other current and prospective EU members. The plan is to settle the issue by the end of June.
Prospects for a deal on the charter improved after the March 14 election defeat of Spanish Prime Minister Jose-Maria Aznar's conservative party. Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is more eager to find a breakthrough.
With Spain shifting course, Poland also has eased its opposition to the charter.
``We do not exclude the possibility of a compromise,'' Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said.
The talks collapsed in December when Spain and Poland opposed a draft reducing their voting power.
AP-NY-03-25-04 0817EST
Copyright 2004, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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