The EU is to examine an 'information exchange' scheme for airline passengers to help counteract terrorism and will also put forward plans to help trace commercial explosives and detonators.
British Home Secretary John Reid (left) and French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy outside the Home Office, London, before an informal meeting to discuss counter-terrorism.
Interior ministers met in London today to discuss consistency in anti-terror measures across the continent and emerged with a message of solidarity in tackling terrorist activities.
Europe, shocked by a suspected Islamist plot to blow up airliners, is studying closer police cooperation, better detection of liquid explosives and combating radicalisation of Muslims, ministers said on Wednesday.
"We face a persistent and very real threat across Europe," British interior minister John Reid told a news conference after he met counterparts from six European countries to discuss the European Union's response to the alleged foiled plot.
The European ministers, meeting with EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini, discussed pushing forward research into liquid and other explosives, improving transport security and intelligence exchange, he said.
EU intelligence agencies will meet towards the end of this month, Mr Reid added.
British police are still holding 24 suspects after saying last week they had foiled a plot to blow up several airliners in mid-Atlantic using liquid explosives disguised as drinks. Police claimed the plan was intended to cause "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".
The London meeting brought together ministers from the EU countries that will hold the bloc's rotating presidency for the next two-and-a-half years. "This is an enduring threat and it will require ... an enduring response," Mr Reid said.
Mr Frattini said ministers had discussed how to combat the radicalisation of Muslims living in Europe.
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini
To counter this, they were focusing on the training of imams at a European level, he said. Imams at some European mosques have been accused of spreading extremist views.
"We do want a European Islam and that is very important not only to show to the Muslim communities that we fully respect other religions ... but we also want (them to) respect national laws, European laws and fundamental rights - first of all the right to life," he said.
Mr Frattini said he would make proposals in the next few days on "the detection of explosives, on the traceability of commercial detonators and particularly on liquid explosives". He said explosives were an area of "particular vulnerability".
The commissioner said he would propose extending to flights within EU countries a passenger information exchange scheme the bloc has in place with the United States, Canada and Australia.
EU countries will also seek to use biometric identifiers at borders and airports to accelerate the identification of passengers by their fingerprints or iris, he added.
The EU will also look into a suggestion by French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy to set up counter-terrorism expert teams at European level ready to help EU countries if needed, Mr Frattini said.