Spanish PM calls for stepped-up anti-terror cooperation in the EU

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday said he intended to bring up how to improve anti-terrorism cooperation in the EU at a summit in Paris next week, after the deadly attacks in Catalonia.

"My intention is to be able to analyze current [anti-terror] cooperation mechanisms in the EU and look at options to strengthen and improve them," he said after a cabinet meeting.

Rajoy is due in Paris on Monday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, after twin vehicle attacks in Spain last week left 15 people dead and more than 120 injured.

Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido met with his French counterpart Gerard Collomb on Monday to discuss the matter.

Rajoy said he "asked French President Emmanuel Macron that we broach this issue in the summit that will take place next Monday in Paris."

He recalled that Spain had already participated in various EU initiatives such as the fight against money laundering and financing of terror groups, or arms control measures.

Extremist attacks such as the ones that hit Barcelona and the seaside resort of Cambrils are "a global threat that require a global response," the prime minister said.

"Unfortunately Barcelona was not an exception but yet another element in a long sequence of attacks in various parts of Europe."