EU Parliament advocates beefing up anti-terror protections
BRUSSELS - On the eve of a European Union summit, European Parliament members are demanding new measures to protect citizens against terror attacks.
In a resolution adopted 532-136 Wednesday, lawmakers called for stepping up immigration checks on travelers entering the 26-nation Schengen area and investment in education and social programs to address the root causes of radicalization. They also said that under certain conditions, they could support an EU-wide program to exchange airline passenger data.
A previous plan for such a program died in the parliament in 2013 due to civil liberties concerns. European lawmakers now say they could approve the program if EU member nations agree in parallel on new standards for data collection and sharing.
EU leaders meet Thursday in Brussels, with proposed counter-terrorism measures high on the agenda.
