UPI
Thursday, June 06, 2013
There is an urgent need for members of
the European Union to tackle evolving terror threats "quickly and
comprehensively," an Irish minister said Wednesday.
Ireland serves at the helm of the Council of the European Union
during the first half of the year. Irish Minister of Justice and Defense
Allan Shatter called on European leaders to put counter-terrorism
initiatives at the top of their agenda.
He said he was particularly concerned about the threat that foreign
fighters returning from conflict abroad posed to the 27 members of the
EU.
"There is an urgent need to tackle this phenomenon quickly and
comprehensively covering all relevant aspects of the issue ranging from
prevention to prosecution and assistance upon return," he said in a
statement.
Michael Adebolajo, a 28-year-old arrested for the May slaying of
British soldier Lee Rigby, was arrested in Kenya in 2010, the BBC
reported last month. Adebolajo was accused of trying to cross into
Somalia to fight alongside al-Shabaab, a terrorist group with ties to
al-Qaida.
Shatter said ministers would debate the issue further during meetings scheduled Thursday in Luxembourg.