Brussels, 26/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 27 June, EU heads of state and/or government meeting in Brussels condemned the almost simultaneous terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait, claiming the lives of one person in France, at least 27 in Tunisia and at least 13 in Kuwait. All the attacks were said immediately to be the work of the so-called Islamic State terrorist organisation.
“There can be no doubt that this was a terrorist attack”, said French President François Hollande shortly after the attack on a factory near Lyon (Isère), before leaving the European Council.
“The events in France make all the more plain to see the extremist terrorist threat we all face”, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “For the EU, it is important to defend our security interests. There are terrorists who leave our shores and then come back. We must prevent them from returning”, she added, making a link, too, with migration. “That is why it is so important to respect the rules on the reception of migrants”, she stated, making reference to the importance of identifying migrants.
Italian Prime Minister Mateo Renzi said there exists “an urgency around security which has its roots in the worst of the hot spots, the Mediterranean. That is the focus of our concern”.
The United Kingdom will do all it can to assist, stated Prime Minister David Cameron, arguing that the threat had to be tackled head-on and the radical arguments that are poisoning the minds of young people must be challenged.
The EU leaders adopted conclusions on terrorism in their debate on security and defence and stressed the need to continue to implement the anti-terrorism measures agreed in February in the wake of the Paris and Copenhagen terrorist attacks. Some of these measures are making scant progress, such as plans for a European PNR system, which the European Parliament has yet to approve. (Solenn Paulic with AN, CG, LC, MB)