European officials reignited a debate over the reach of the state into citizens' lives as they respond to the worst terror attacks in France in more than half a century.
Interior ministers agreed Sunday to increase their intelligence sharing on individuals and to tighten the European Union's external frontier to stem the flow of terrorists between Europe and Syria. Some also supported more checks on the EU's internal borders.
The challenge for the region's leaders will be overcoming aversion in countries such as Germany to more state oversight in areas ranging from Internet traffic to exchanging data on airline tickets. Complicating their task is the fact that the terrorists were French nationals and not foreigners, meaning that any response will need to be directed at EU citizens.
"This isn't Europe's 9/11 because the people who carried out the attacks were homegrown and not foreigners," said Jan Techau, head of the Carnegie Endowment in Brussels. "You can't externalize this threat -- it's a threat on the home front."
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron plans to talk with his country's intelligence chiefs Monday, after French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called for a more coordinated effort to fight Islamist extremism and additional help from Internet companies to counter terrorist propaganda.
Robert Hannigan, the director of the U.K.'s spy listening post, said last November that Internet giants such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. are "in denial" about their role in spreading terrorism and called on U.S. technology companies to lend their support in the fight.
Diverting Resources
The Paris attacks which claimed 17 victims last week shouldn't be used as an excuse to further increase civilian surveillance, campaign groups said.
"It is the wrong solution and would divert resources from focused surveillance operations at a time when the agencies are already struggling to cope with the volume of information available," said Emma Carr, director of privacy and civil liberties at U.K. group Big Brother Watch.
The meeting took place as world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined President Francois Hollande on a march through the French capital to commemorate the victims of last week's attacks. Cities around the world held simultaneous gatherings of support including in Berlin, where thousands joined a demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate and French Embassy.
Education Needed
"If you double or triple the number of police on the streets, or add more cameras, it won't really change much," said Svenia Busson, 21, who moved to Berlin from Paris three years ago to study. "These people, if they want to do something they're going to do it. Education and integration are much more important if we want greater security."
Tougher restrictions at the EU's periphery are needed to ensure continued functioning of the Schengen area comprising 26 European nations from Iceland to Greece that have eliminated passport and immigration controls at their joint borders. Citizens of those nations -- which include non-EU countries Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, though not the U.K. or Ireland -- currently enjoy free movement within the region as one country.
"Home-grown terrorism is far more significant than even a few years ago, but even so, the EU's Schengen bloc has a few weak members in southeast Europe," said Karl-Heinz Kamp, academic director at the German government's Federal Academy for Security Policy in Berlin. "The whole refugee problem, with people coming to Italy and then being transferred on throughout Europe is our open gate."
Balancing Act
Spain would support changes to Schengen to re-introduce checks at national borders, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz was cited as saying in an interview published Sunday in El Pais newspaper. Steps would be focused on those considered to be a threat rather than indiscriminate checks, he said.
Ministers acknowledged that the commitment to introduce new measures raises questions over the balance between citizen freedoms and surveillance to thwart potential attacks.
"We must not go back on our liberties," Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said, while urging a greater exchange of information. "That would be a victory for these people. Closing our borders is not the solution."
A reminder of the security challenges came over the weekend in Germany, where police arrested a 24-year-old German national who is a suspected member of Islamic State. The suspect allegedly traveled to Syria in October 2013, joined Islamic State and returned to Germany in November 2014. His arrest isn't connected with the Paris violence and there is no evidence he was planning any attacks.
Newspaper Attack
Also in Germany, police arrested two suspects in connection with an arson attack on a Hamburg newspaper that reprinted cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad from the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. No one was injured in the attacks, which took place early Sunday.
"We have reason to worry and must remain vigilant," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said after the Paris meeting. "We are well prepared in Germany, but no interior minister in the world can guarantee that there will be no sort of attack."