Interview: Belgian scholar calls for more coordination at EU level to fight terrorism: expert

Amid the tightening of security in Belgium after the terrorist attacks in Paris, a Belgian scholar here on Wednesday called for more coordination at the European Union level to fight terrorism.

"After 9/11 attacks, and the violence in Madrid and London, there has been a big effort at EU level to stimulate coordination and cooperation among the member states, some steps have been taken but at the same time most of the measures dealing with security, integration and job creation remained at national level," Rik Coolsaet, a professor with Ghent Institute for International Studies (GIIS) told Xinhua in an interview.

He said that Belgium had proposed already in 2002 and 2004 the creation of a sort of European secret services, but there was still the need for an enhanced cooperation in intelligence sharing in order to be able to identify on time the individuals that might pose a danger for Europe.

"The problem here is that the intelligent services are extremely reluctant to share information," said Coolsaet.

According to Coolsaet, more cooperation was need in Europe but also it would be a key to hire professional and well trained staff in the intelligence services. Endit