All news

French FM says EU needs to adopt new measures on combating terrorism

“It is essential to learn lessons from what has happened in France,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius  EPA/YOAN VALAT
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius
© EPA/YOAN VALAT

PARIS, January 12. /TASS/. New measures on combating terrorism need to be introduced at the level of the European Union, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France Inter radio station on Monday.

“It is essential to learn lessons from what has happened in France,” Fabius said, referring to the terrorist attacks staged last week by Islamic extremists.

Fabius said he discussed the issue at the meeting with French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Sunday and both of them agreed that particular measures are needed to prevent the spread of Islamist propaganda via the Internet.

Other measures should be taken “so that similar ideas do no spread inside prisons,” he added.

The minister also called for making the Schengen visa-free system more efficient and creating a joint database of passenger information.

Fabius has backed the idea proposed by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy of conducting a joint effort by authorities and political opposition in France on fighting against terrorism and ensuring security.

Sarkozy earlier said this could be done on the basis of a commission of parliamentary experts or through setting up a bilateral working group.

Three days of terror attacks last week in and around the French capital have left 17 innocent people dead. The victims are ten journalists from satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had earlier published caricature images of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, three policemen and four visitors of a kosher grocery store.