Renzi leads push for EU integration

(ANSA) - Rome, March 24 - Italian Premier Matteo Renzi is leading a push for greater integration of EU security and defence policy to ward off terror attacks such as those in Brussels which left at least 32 dead and 130 wounded, the Financial Times said Thursday.
    Renzi "has positioned himself as a leading proponent of those calling for more integration as the solution. A common defence and security policy was now necessary for the EU, he said, speaking after the attacks on Tuesday," the FT said.
    But it said "Mr Renzi's proposals are unlikely to go far; Britain, in particular, is staunchly opposed to a common EU defence policy, but many of his counterparts in Europe echo his frustration, and the need for the EU as an organisation to show political will on security," it said.
    The article, entitled latest Attacks Revive Push For Collective Response On Security, ended by quoting an anonymous top former British counterterror official as saying that the fundamental problem in Europe "is the way in which intelligence work has often failed to translate into good policing".