EU ministers meet to enhance anti-terror cooperation

Justice and security ministers of the European Union (EU) held an extraordinary meeting here on Thursday in the wake of Tuesday's deadly attacks, seeking to enhance anti-terrorism cooperation.

"The meeting is intended to show solidarity with Belgium, discuss the actual state of play in the fight against terrorism and pursue swift completion and implementation of legislation," Xinhua quoted the Council of the EU as saying in a statement.

The ministers will not take new decisions but will publish a declaration, including calls for quick activation of the air passenger name record, a measure which would require more systematic collection, use and retention of data on international airline passengers, according to the Brussels-based media EUobserver.

They will also renew calls for more intelligence sharing and use of EU databases like the Schengen information system or Europol's database.

The special meeting came two days after a series of explosions at the airport and a metro station in Brussels killed at least 31 people.