EU interior ministers to hold emergency meeting on Friday

European home-affairs ministers will gather in Brussels on Friday, November 20, to discuss ways of bolstering the region's response to terrorism following the Paris attacks, the Luxembourg government said Sunday.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the attacks on Friday that left 132 dead were planned from overseas with support from France. The role of Belgian-based terrorists or terrorists operating out of that country is emerging as a strong element in the investigation, Interior Ministry sources said. Schneider, who is also Luxembourg's deputy prime minister, said the decision to hold the "extraordinary" meeting of European Union interior and justice ministers was taken with the French authorities, according to a statement from the rotating presidency of the 28-nation European Union, now held by Luxembourg.

"Arms trafficking is one the things we need to fight if we are going to be effective in fighting terrorism", Cazeneuve told journalists after meeting with his Belgian counterpart.

France reintroduced border controls even before the attacks to tighten security ahead of high-profile worldwide climate talks Paris will host at the end of the month. It will also focus on the question of firearms security and the reinforcement of controls at external borders, the statement said.

"Both Belgium want a PNR at European level".

The European Union presidency, held by Luxembourg, immediately obliged. "We agree on talking about arms trafficking, the PNR... and the third point on borders... we are on the same wavelength".