Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 24 March 2016: Extraordinary Summit of the Council of the EU

Following the terror attacks in Brussels on 22 March, which have so far resulted in the death of 32 people and over 300 people wounded, Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs as well as representatives of EU institutions met during an extraordinary summit in Brussels on 24 March. The attacks were condemned and all leaders pledged their support for Belgium. At the same time the ministers agreed on an array of actions and measures to be pursued related to the better coordination of anti-terrorism efforts and making more use of current legal instruments. They also called for more trust between EU countries on sharing information and implementing decisions to do so.

One significant decision was to accelerate the adoption of the Passenger Name Record (PNR) directive. Another one was to strengthen Europol by appointing a team of national terrorism experts. EU ministers also want to counter propaganda of terrorists more online, with the aid of IT companies. Following the attacks, new calls were made again as well for a common European defence and a common European intelligence agency.

For the actual statement on 24 March 2015 by the Council of the EU extraordinary meeting click here.

For more information on the PNR directive click here.