Terrorism: EU warns partners
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union foreign ministers have warned partner countries their relations with the powerful EU bloc will suffer if they fail to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.
The warning marks a major shift for the EU, which has in the past been reluctant to use trade and aid as weapons to force action from countries outside the bloc.
It reflects Europe's alarm over the terrorist threat since the March 11 railway bombings in Madrid, Spain, which killed 202 people and injured more than 1,800 others.
The warning was among a list of measures that the 25 current and soon-to-be EU members will forward to the bloc's heads of government for approval at their two-day summit, which begins Thursday.
In another unprecedented move, the ministers also approved NATO-style language committing all member states to offer military and other assistance to fellow EU countries that suffer a terrorist attack.
"The events of March 11th have rightly led us to redouble our efforts" against terrorism, Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen told reporters.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said terrorism is "a menace that affects us all" and that there could be "no compromising here. We have to show solidarity."
Europe's tougher approach is expected to be warmly received in Washington, where officials have complained that EU countries have been slow to adopt measures to combat terror -- shown by reluctance to deploy sky marshals on international flights and provide data on passengers flying to the United States.
In a draft declaration issued after their meeting, the foreign ministers described the fight against terrorism as "a key element of political dialogue" with countries outside the bloc, including those in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
EU officials said countries whose cooperation in fighting terrorism was deemed insufficient would risk a loss of aid and trade.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the ministers set a June 30 deadline for all EU nations to enact a series of anti-terrorist laws, most notably the European Arrest Warrant legislation that five nations have yet to adopt.
"What we need is action. The problem for the European Union is that we can only go at the pace of the slowest. Therefore, there is a special responsibility on the countries which have failed so far implementing measures to get moving," Straw said.
The foreign ministers also approved stronger financial measures to freeze the assets of suspected terrorist groups in Europe and backed the creation of an EU anti-terrorism coordinator -- a so-called "anti-terror czar" to improve cooperation.
Monday's meeting of EU foreign ministers comes after a one-day emergency meeting last week when officials from member states approved "new institutional arrangements by way of the proposal for the appointment of a counterterrorism coordinator." (Full story)
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called for more solidarity between EU countries in sharing intelligence.
"In the fight against terrorism, the national interests are not the leading element because every country is in the same situation," he said. "International and European cooperation is absolutely fundamental."
On the eve of the summit, EU President Romano Prodi said that European countries "are all under attack, and we behave with a joint action because of that."
But Prodi, in an interview Sunday with the U.S. Fox television network, cautioned Americans not to "confuse terrorism with the Iraqi war."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
