Paris attacks: EU ministers agree to step up security

BRUSSELS

European Union interior ministers on Friday agreed to implement tighter border security, step up the fight against arms trafficking and increase intelligence sharing in the wake of the Paris attacks.

"We can't take more time; this is urgent," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

Interior ministers gathered in Brussels on Friday where they also agreed to finalize by the end of this year the Passenger Name Record, or PNR, which enforces airlines to share passenger data with governments within the EU.

But critics have argued that the system is a violation of European citizens' rights to privacy.

"This tool [PNR] is absolutely indispensable to combat terrorism and in particular in order to monitor the return of foreign fighters," Cazeneuve told a news conference in Brussels.

The ministers agreed to immediately implement systematic and coordinated checks at EU external borders, including on EU citizens with the right to freedom of movement within the 28-nation bloc.

EU's border control agency Frontex and EU's law enforcement agency Europol are expected to help member states bordering the Western Balkans region to detect smuggling of firearms and to enhance cooperation with countries in the region.

U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May said ahead of the meeting in Brussels: “I think we need accelerated progress on firearms. I would like to see all member states committed to improving the measures and penalties for dealing with those who traffic in firearms.”

Last week's Paris attacks saw 130 people killed by militants armed with explosives and Kalashnikov assault rifles. Many of the attackers lived in Belgium and U.S. authorities have said some were on U.S. no-fly lists.

The suspected attack planner, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, appears to have been able to travel between Syria and Europe with relative ease.