Brussels, 19/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - Talks conducted by Gilles de Kerchove, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, were recently held with Algeria, in Algiers, the EU ambassador to Algeria, Laura Baeza, said during a press conference on Tuesday 17 July. The meeting allowed the threats weighing upon the Sahel region of Africa to be highlighted, not only with the Algerian authorities but also with those of Mali, according to local media reports. Baeza says that the themes covered by discussions were counter-terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking.
The same issues were covered during talks held by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, in Algiers, as France is said to support Algerian intervention against terrorist groups. These themes were also covered on Monday in debates between Moroccan and European parliamentarians, with a delegation of MEPs headed by Antonio Panzeri (S&D, Italy) (see separate article). The Moroccan media reports that security stakes took pride of place in discussions by the joint committee. The situation in northern Mali was at the heart of the exchange, centred on the role of neighbouring countries in management of the Mali crisis and on ways to enhance the role of parliamentary diplomacy in order to combat extremism and terrorism. According to information available to us, a meeting bringing together the directors general of various Ministries of the Interior of the countries of the Mediterranean area was held in Spain on 11 July. (FB/transl.jl)