Brussels, 25/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - The nine European countries most affected by their nationals going off to fight in Syria will meet in Brussels on 8 May with representatives from the United States, Turkey, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia, said Belgian Home Office Minister Joelle Milquet on Thursday 24 April (see EUROPE 11066).
Earlier this week, France launched an action plan to prevent would-be jihaddis from going off to fight in Syria. Belgium introduced similar measures in April 2013 and wants to see greater cooperation among European nations and a number of countries from along the southern Mediterranean rim. Milquet said one of the greatest concerns was managing the return of fighters, with the other “new” problem in Syria being the presence of an Al-Qaeda base on Europe's doorstep. With her former French colleague, Manuel Valls, Milquet set up an informal group of the interior ministers of some dozen European counties, including the United Kingdom and Spain, which met in June and October 2013 and again in December, when it was attended by ministers from the United States, Canada and Australia.
The next meeting will take place in Brussels on 8 May and will be attended by representatives from the United States, Turkey (which Milquet pointed out is a crossing point for entry into Syria), Tunisia and Jordan. Milquet said that small meetings of this nature were more effective than the specialised EU Councils of Ministers where it was difficult to have spontaneous talks. She called, however, for an extension of the EU's role in this connection with the creation over time of a European surveillance service, although she recognised that these were sensitive issues. Since 2012, some 200 people from Belgium have gone off to fight in Syria. The Belgian home office says that of these, some 20 have been killed and around 50 have returned to Belgium. (LC)