Italian Defense Minister Urges ‘Extraordinary Measures’ to Combat Terror

The Brussels blasts showed that the need to combat terrorism as a common threat was underestimated.

ROME (Sputnik) – EU leaders should adopt a package of extraordinary measures to combat terrorism in light of the fatal Brussels attacks and the heightened terrorist threat, Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti said Thursday.

"Europe is lagging behind. The times of normal European rules are not compatible with the risks we are experiencing… Some steps forward have been made but they are too slow compared to the terrorist threat that has an extremely alarming rate. A package of extraordinary measures must be approved with extraordinary procedures," Pinotti said in an interview published by the Quotidiano Nazionale daily.

The minister outlined the need to harmonize the 28 EU member states’ judicial counterterrorist standards, set up a European Public Prosecutor with jurisdiction over transnational terrorism, as well as to form a "common specialized structure against jihadist terrorism."

"One essential point is to go beyond the current cooperation between police forces and intelligence [agencies] and create a European intelligence structure," Pinotti underscored.

Outside Europe, she called for a two-pronged strategy of military engagement to reclaim territory from the so-called caliphate and secure Arab commitment to wage war against jihadists with backing from the West.

"This is what we are doing in Iraq. Daesh [Islamic State] lost 40 percent of the territory it controlled. I think it’s the right strategy," Pinotti stressed.

EU-wide security became the focal point of political discussions in the aftermath of three suicide attacks in Brussels that killed at least 31 and wounded 300 early on Tuesday.