EU States Urged To Share More Intelligence With Airports

European Union aviation security experts have agreed that police and intelligence agencies should share more information with transport authorities and operators to help prevent attacks like the bombings in Brussels.

Three suicide bombers killed 32 people in the airport's departure hall and at a crowded rush-hour metro station on March 22. The strikes on Zaventem reignited a debate about how to secure Europe's airports without creating too much disruption for passengers.

At an emergency meeting of the Committee for Civil Aviation Security, experts reviewed existing security measures in landside areas of EU airports.

EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said they agreed on the need for better intelligence-sharing in order to be "even more proactive and even more efficient in safety".

However, any additional security measures must be proportionate and risk-based, she added. "This is a matter for national authorities."

Officials have stressed the need to avoid simply "moving" vulnerable areas, for example by introducing screening at airport entrances.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Brussels bombings and for strikes that killed 130 people in Paris last November. The need for better intelligence-sharing has become a mantra since the attacks, but this is easier said than done in a bloc of 28 member states.