Europe discussion waterproofing their borders against terrorism

USPA NEWS - Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz, is in favor of tightening border controls in the European Union, in order to prevent the entry of terrorists in the community space, even where this involves modifying the Schengen Treaty on the transit of persons within the Union.

The Spanish minister participated Thursday in a meeting convened in Riga (Latvia) among those responsible for Interior of the member countries of the EU. According to Jorge Fernandez Diaz, the fight against terrorism requires a "long-term effort, sustained and close cooperation" between European partners and friends-EU countries. The Spanish Interior Minister recalled that the attacks in Paris and arrests of jihadists in several countries of the European Union show the need for combating terrorism in the European agenda of the JHA Councils permanently to work on concrete measures the European Union must run away.

The Spanish minister said before its European partners if the threat analysis is clear and measures and solutions are fully identified, what is needed now is the ultimate political impulse and step into action with the effective and immediate implementation of all the agreed measures. "We can not be content to pass a series of documents, but we have to make them concrete and effective actions and measures“, he said.

During his speech, the minister explained that Spain attaches the greatest importance to the fight against terrorism have European PNR (Passenger Name Record) and, therefore, emphasized that the release of this issue by the European Parliament "must be a priority to counter the greatest terrorist threat that Europe has faced in recent years. He also noted that Spain supports the legislative amendment of the Schengen Borders Code to allow a systematic checks at the external borders of the people who have the right to freedom of movement in the databases, including the Schengen Information System, or SIS and other systems.

Jorge Fernandez Diaz also stressed the important role of Europol in combating the terrorist content on the network. He said that in the Internet field, "we must seek common solutions" to curb radicalization and misuse in the network for terrorist purposes. Precisely the European Parliament held a debate Wednesday on new measures against terrorism, including a Passenger Registration System (PNR), the role of the European Police Office (Europol), improving the exchange of information, prevention radicalization or the next European Agenda for Security. The discussion was attended by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos.

Dimitris Avramopoulos said that the objective of the Agenda for Security in Europe will be presented in the coming months "to ensure the safety of Europeans and moving to Europe. Better use verification system Shengen documents. Europol and Eurojust will play an essential role for this security agenda. Another important point is the directive on the registration of passenger data (PNR). We must ensure that law enforcement agencies can access the data needed to prevent serious cross-border attacks. We must also review legislation to combat arms trafficking, terrorist financing and radicalization“.

Meanwhile, Timothy Kirkhope, rapporteur of the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists, recalled that "the atrocities of Paris were shocking" and said that "this mechanism is a piece of the puzzle to fight terrorism and organized crime. We can not wait for a new policy. I want to apply the rules, there are thousands of foreign fighters who are taking advantage of security holes. Currently there are no any recourse to the use of these data and this is what I want redress". In his opinion, "we can find a solution to protect both human lives and civil liberties".