MEPs say the EU needs new data protection rules and the sharing of airline passenger information to fight terrorism.
They believe both pieces of legislation would strike the right balance between tackling crime and civil liberties.
One proposed law – known as the Passenger Name Record – would force airlines to share data across the EU.
“One of the greatest reasons to have a EU Passenger Name Record agreement is that we need to have some common standards and protections in place for the citizens,” said Timothy Kirkhope, the British conservative who is steering the legislation through the parliament.
“If we have 28 different systems asking for 28 different types of information, with 28 different approaches to safeguarding the citizens, we will end up with chaos; and what’s more, who wins? the criminal, the terrorist!”
Former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt has his own ideas about how the EU can fight terrorism.
The answer, he says, is “more Europe” – this time in the field
