22/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - Request for a debate about the state of emergency in France. As the French government considers extending the state of emergency beyond 26 February (after an initial three-month extension following the 13 November terror attacks), the ALDE Group at the European Parliament called on 21 January for a debate on the situation in France at the European Parliament's civil liberties committee. It also sent a letter to the European Commission asking whether the state of emergency was compatible with EU law. Sophie in't Veld explained that states of emergency are supposed to be emergency measures rather than a semi-permanent state and must be used very cautiously, and only in exceptional circumstances with all the necessary guarantees. (SP)