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Spain urges EU to boost intelligence sharing to prevent attacks

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Spain urges EU to boost intelligence sharing to prevent attacks
Spain's foreign minister spoke following the attack at Manchester Arena. Photo: AFP

EU member states must boost intelligence sharing to prevent attacks like the one in Manchester which killed 22 people, including children, Spain's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

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"We have to work together to end once and for all this wretched scourge," Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis told a news conference when asked if the European Union could do more to thwart such attacks.

"We have to work together, especially by pooling the information that we have, with the awareness that nobody is exempt from this madness," Spain's former ambassador to the EU added.

The EU's 28 nations have their own intelligence agencies and countries are often wary of sharing hard-won intelligence with other nations.   

But Dastis said EU member states must "establish a level of trust that allows for the fluid exchange of information."   

Children were among those killed and dozens injured in the suicide bombing on Monday night at a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande in Britain's deadliest extremist attack in 12 years.

"We are making an effort and are increasing our cooperation every day but I think that when it comes to this fight we still must improve the sharing of information and our joint work in this area," Dastis said.

The EU has faced calls to boost its intelligence sharing since the November 2015 attacks in Paris which killed 130 people after it emerged that several of the attackers had been on the radar of authorities in various countries, providing opportunities to stop them.

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