European leaders weigh terrorism strategy after attacks

French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz are meeting in Paris after both of their countries have lost lives to Islamic extremist attackers in recent weeks

The leaders of France, Austria, Germany and the European Union(EU) are meeting Tuesday to discuss Europe’s response to terrorism threats after recent deadly Islamic extremist attacks.

As a result of the attacks, Emmanuel Macron last week proposed tighter controls on the EU’s external borders (REUTERS)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz are meeting in Paris after both of their countries have lost lives to Islamic extremist attackers in recent weeks.

The two leaders will then hold a video conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel to discuss collective anti-terrorism strategy.

The meeting comes a week after a man who officials said had tried to join the Islamic State group shot four people to death in Vienna. The shooting has strengthened calls in Austria for a crackdown on Islamic extremism.

Kurz called Monday for a coordinated, Europe-wide effort on actions including tackling political Islam, addressing the threat of fighters returning from conflict zones and “proper protection of the EU’s external borders.”

In France last month, an Islamic extremist killed three people in a church in the French city of Nice, and another extremist beheaded a teacher near Paris because he had shown his students cartoons of Islam’s prophet for a discussion about freedom of expression.