Jihadists attacks: EPP Group calls for immediate EU action

With Brussels, Paris and Berlin on high alert and under terrorist threats, the EPP Group Spokeswoman on civil liberties and home affairs, Monika Hohlmeier MEP, has emphatically called for immediate and urgent EU action in order to frustrate Islamic militants' activities and thwart further attacks.

Hohlmeier said: "There is a Europe-wide network of European Islamic jihadists with formal links to Islamic State and Al Qaeda. They are moving from one Member State to another, to Turkey, to Syria and to Yemen and back to Europe with impunity.

The national security authorities have precious little tools at their disposal and clearly, the setting-up of an EU Passenger Name Record system would go a long way in addressing this problem. We must give them more tools now, not tomorrow or the day after. Arguably, we have already run out of time.

These terrorist attacks make the EU PNR and exchange of information between Member States all the more necessary. We call for rapid EU action to track down terrorists and pre-empt further attacks. More direct and targeted tools that monitor and control EU external borders are needed.

There is no need to restart the EU PNR legislative process from scratch by asking the European Commission to propose another draft. The text we have on the table is comprehensive, well thought-out and fit for purpose. There is no room for more posturing and knee-jerk reactions."