Germany and France to Step Up Joint Efforts Against Terrorism
June 11, 2004
Dominique de Villepin of France and Germany's Otto Schily announced the new plan after talks in the western German town of Kehl on Thursday. The two countries want to step up the exchange of information to combat terrorism as well as organized crime and illegal immigration.
The European neighbors plan on establishing joint Franco-German police patrols in border areas and increasing police powers that would make cross-border surveillance and pursuit of suspects easier. They will also set up a group of experts to handle the expulsion of radical Islamist individuals who are considered a threat to security.
"International Islamist terrorism -- on our continent and in the world -- constitutes one of the biggest current threats," Schily told reporters at the meeting.
Both officials are struggling with reforming legal systems which they feel have allowed dangerous radicals to stay in both countries for too long. Villepin wants to tighten French law and Schily is looking to make expulsions faster and easier in a controversial new immigration law.
The EU is keen to implement more cross-border cooperation in matters of security after the train bombings in Madrid on March 11 that killed 191 people. Investigators have blamed the attacks on Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda.
A spokeswoman for Schily told Reuters that the new cooperative efforts between France and Germany would complement EU initiatives, not compete against them. Germany already has bilateral arrangements with police in Austria and Switzerland, and the spokeswoman said the country would not rule out seeking similar agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic, two new EU countries with which Germany shares borders.