On Sunday night, European leaders expressed support for the military operations launched by the United States and Britain against targets in Afghanistan and promised continued solidarity with Washington in the campaign against terrorism.
Presidency
The Belgian Presidency of the European Union reaffirmed its “entire solidarity with the United States, as well as with the United Kingdom and all the other countries engaged in these operations.” In a statement, Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, recalled that the European Union, on the basis of the Security Council Resolution 1368, had considered a riposte by the United States as legitimate. Mr Verhofstadt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said he was informed in advance of the attacks by US secretary of state Colin Powell and by British foreign secretary Jack Straw.
EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg today
Police and security forces across Western Europe were placed on a heightened state of alert last night, amid fears of terrorist retaliation for the attack on Afghanistan. Dozens of terrorist suspects thought to be linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qa’eda network have been arrested in Europe since the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September, writes the Telegraph.