In the back drop of the recent terror attacks in Brussels, European Union (EU) Interior and Justice Ministers met in the Belgium capital last evening and pledged to better share intelligence on terrorism.
In a joint statement, issued after the meeting, the Ministers called to increase, as a matter of urgency, the systematic feeding, consistent use and inter-operability of European and international databases in the fields of security, travel and migration. They also called for making full use of technological developments and including privacy safeguards from the outset.
EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos told reporters that they put pressure on everybody to co-operate in a better way. He said, if the member nations share information, they might dissuade terrorist acts. Saying that there was sometimes a lack of trust, Mr Avramopoulos called for more resources for the counter-terrorism centre and for member states to make full use of it.
An EU diplomat said that despite improvements, still only five member states provide 90 percent of the information.
The attacks in Brussels took place on Tuesday at a metro station and the airport killing at least 31 people and wounding 270 others.