European ministers agree on increasing railway security

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Saturday that checks would be carried out "everywhere it is necessary," without divulging details.

A meeting of top security and transport officials from the EU and the ministers of nine European countries - France, Belgium, Britain, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland - was held on Saturday in Paris to find ways to enhance security on major continental trains.

On Friday last week, Ayoub El Khazzani, an armed Moroccan jihadist, injured three people on a train traveling between Amsterdam and Paris. A group of young Americans – two of them off-duty soldiers - overpowered the assailant, preventing possible casualties.

"We are determined to pursue our cooperation to ... prevent, detect and better fight violent acts that radicalized individuals may want to commit on European Union soil," said a joint statement read out by Cazeneuve.

The minister also called for a better liaison on intelligence across Europe's border-free travel zone, and "coordinated simultaneous actions" by security forces. He said it was "indispensable" to protect those who are traveling by train within Europe, adding that the officials would likely work with the aviation industry to improve railway security.

"Our aim is that concrete and ambitious safety and security measures ... are adopted by the different players at European level," he said.

The European countries are also contemplating giving train security staff extra powers as well as increasing the number of officials patrolling cross-border trains.

Overreaction?

But a number of experts say it is impossible to monitor each passenger without choking the European train system.

"We can't do and don't want complete, comprehensive checks on people or luggage in trains in Germany or Europe," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on the sidelines of the meeting. He said the important thing for the European countries was to improve cooperation and the exchange of information on suspected jihadists.

"It is essential that, as far as possible, public transport remains open and easily accessible. Security must be proportionate to the threat," said EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, adding that while security was the top priority, there was no need to overreact.

shs/sgb (AP, AFP)