Europe needs to beef up security measures: French president

Europe needs to beef up measures against terrorism, French President Francois Hollande warned here during an official visit to Lisbon on Tuesday.

"In the framework of this new impulse we intend to give to the European construction, the first priority is protection, defense and security of our borders," he said in a joint press conference with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the presidential palace in Belem.

Hollande said he intended to extend France's state of emergency to six months, as France beefs up its defense against terrorism amid widespread criticism regarding the Socialist Party's response to a string of deadly attacks. The emergency rule was imposed after the November 13 attacks in Paris which killed 130 people.

Hollande's visit came just several days after a man drove through a crowd of people celebrating France's National Day in Nice, killing 84 people.

While he cancelled trips to Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic as part of a European tour to discuss Brexit, Hollande did not withdraw his plan to visit Portugal and Ireland.

Hollande said on Tuesday both Portugal and France shared the same values of freedom and a similar vision of Europe.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa thanked Hollande for visiting Portugal after the tragic event that took place on July 14.

"I want to thank Holland for having come to Portugal, fulfilling a commitment during such a complex and difficult situation," he said.

Rebelo de Sousa added that Portugal shared France's pain following the "barbaric" attack.

Rebelo de Sousa also condemned Turkey's plans to reintroduce the death penalty following a failed military coup on July 15.

Hollande pointed out that the death penalty would be incompatible if Turkey wished to join the European Union in future. Endit