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French PM calls for stronger controls on EU's external borders

Xinhua, March 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has called for "strengthening external border controls" in the European Union (EU) during a visit to Brussels on Wednesday.

Valls and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel paid tribute to the victims of the Brussels attacks in vigil at Maelbeek metro station, where one of the bombs exploded on Tuesday.

"It is urgent that we strengthen the controls of the European Union's external borders. France has been proposing this for months," Valls said in an interview.

He added that there was also an urgent need to adopt plans for a Europe-wide Passenger Name Record (PNR), Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported.

"We must urgently make sure that nobody can use fake identity documents any more. We know that the Islamic State has stolen a large number of passports in Syria," he added.

The French prime minister added there was a need to move forward "with all the means to fight against terrorism". He said as for the Brussels attacks, "Europe was attacked, so the response must be on an European level." Enditem