Madrid bombings: The aftermath

The European Union must engage more with international bodies in its bid to defeat terrorism, a key committee of peers has found.

The House of Lords EU committee's working group on home affairs said in a new report that Brussels must play a more co-ordinating role in the battle against groups such as al Qaeda, while agencies such as Interpol should be supported.

The EU should be doing more to support members states and share best practice if another atrocity on the scale of last year's Madrid bombing is to be avoided, the report concluded.

Other recommendations included boosting the role of international policing bodies such as Interpol and Europol.

Both agencies should be given as much data as possible, while Europol's effectiveness has been hit by the failure of member states to appoint a director in recent months.

The peers also found that the UK does not yet have the capacity to record all incoming passengers' passport numbers and check them against international data.

Sub-committee chairman Lord Wright of Richmond said a simpler structure was required within the EU, while its external relations with other international agencies could be improved.

"International terrorism is a scourge of modern society and action needs to be mobilised against it at national, EU and global levels," he said.

"The EU makes an important contribution supporting member states - who have the primary responsibility - but its structures are complex and confusing and need to be streamlined."