EU critical infrastructure plans must not create 'terrorist shopping list'

6.17.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 11th Jul 2007

The European Parliament has approved a Liberal Democrat-led report on an EU wide strategy to protect critical infrastructure such as airports or pipelines from terrorist attacks. But it has dropped the idea of a list of sites on the sensible grounds that this would signal potential targets.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat European justice spokeswoman Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP said:

"An EU-wide strategy of effective measures to counter the terrorist threat and protect EU citizens is fully justified, but a list of sites would risk becoming a terrorists' shopping list."

"Duplication of the work of member states must be avoided, and owners and operators must not be burdened with unnecessary costs by obliging them to alter already existing and well-functioning arrangements."

"Forward planning with parliamentary oversight could help avoid knee-jerk measures like the disproportionate restrictions on liquids on planes introduced last year, with no justification of their effectiveness and no democratic input."