Support of internet firms against terror ‘essential’

Interior ministers from a range of nations gathered in Paris Sunday called for an “essential” cooperation from Internet companies to tackle terrorism.

“We forcefully noted the need for greater cooperation with Internet companies to guarantee the reporting and removal of illegal content, particularly content that makes apologies for terrorism or promotes violence or hate,” said French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

EU and U.S. security ministers met at France’s interior ministry on Sunday to work out a joint response to the threat of jihadist attacks following days of carnage in Paris by three gunmen claiming to act on behalf of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The gathering was being held just hours ahead of a massive public rally in Paris against terrorism that was to be attended by dozens of world leaders.

Ahead of the meeting, Spain’s Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told the daily El Pais that his country wants to see the Schengen treaty modified to allow border controls to be restored to limit the movements of Islamic fighters returning to Europe from the Middle East.

“We are going to back border controls and it is possible that as a consequence it will be necessary to modify the Schengen treaty,” he said.

“The existing mobility in the European Union is facilitating the movements (of jihadists) to any country and also to our country,” he added.

The March 1995 Schengen agreement removed passport checks on the EU’s internal borders. A total 26 European nations currently have signed the Schengen agreement, 22 of them EU members.

(With AFP)