This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35375303

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
France to keep state of emergency 'until IS defeated' - PM Valls Migrant crisis: EU at grave risk, warns France PM Valls
(about 2 hours later)
France will seek to keep its state of emergency until a "total and global war" against so-called Islamic State (IS) is over, Prime Minister Manuel Valls has told the BBC. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned that Europe's migration crisis is putting the EU at grave risk.
The measures were introduced after the IS-led Paris attacks on 13 November and then extended for three months. Mr Valls told the BBC Europe could not take all the refugees fleeing what he called terrible wars in Iraq or Syria.
Such a move gives police more power to conduct raids and impose house arrests.
Mr Valls also warned that Europe's migration crisis was now putting the European Union itself at grave risk.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Berlin .
EU countries hope Turkey will help to control the flow of migrants reaching the EU from Syria and other conflict zones.
Interviewed by the BBC's chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Valls said France was "at war", which meant "using all means in our democracy under the rule of law to protect French people".
When asked how long he envisaged the state of emergency remaining, Mr Valls said: "The time necessary. We cannot always live all the time in a state of emergency."
"As long as the threat is there, we must use all the means," he said, adding that it should stay in place "until we can get rid of Daesh", using an acronym for IS.
"In Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia we must eradicate, eliminate Daesh," he said. "It is a total and global war that we are facing with terrorism," he added. "The war we are conducting must also be total, global and ruthless."
Paris attacks: In depth
What happened on the night?
French politics shift to the right
'Totally destabilised'
More than a million migrants, most of them refugees, arrived in Europe last year.
Mr Valls says that Europe could not take in all the refugees fleeing what he called terrible wars in Iraq or Syria.
"Otherwise," he said, "our societies will be totally destabilised.""Otherwise," he said, "our societies will be totally destabilised."
Europe, he said, needs to take urgent action to control its external borders. More than a million migrants, mostly refugees, arrived in Europe last year, many making perilous journeys. On Friday, at least 15 people were killed as their boats sank off Greek islands.
Mr Valls also said that France would seek to keep its current state of emergency until a "total and global war" against so-called Islamic State (IS) was over.
The measures were introduced after the IS-led Paris attacks on 13 November and then extended for three months.
Katya Adler: Germans struggle to cope with influx
Teaching migrants how to behave
Migrants feel chill of tighter borders
Europe's migrant crisis
Cologne incidents
Mr Valls was speaking to Lyse Doucet, the BBC's chief international correspondent, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Europe, he said, needed to take urgent action to control its external borders.
"If Europe is not capable of protecting its own borders, it's the very idea of Europe that will be questioned.""If Europe is not capable of protecting its own borders, it's the very idea of Europe that will be questioned."
Asked about border controls inside Europe which many fear put the passport-free Schengen zone at great risk, Mr Valls said the concept of Europe itself was now in very grave danger.Asked about border controls inside Europe which many fear put the passport-free Schengen zone at great risk, Mr Valls said the concept of Europe itself was now in very grave danger.
He did not directly criticise Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel for her welcoming message last year to refugees.He did not directly criticise Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel for her welcoming message last year to refugees.
Mr Valls said she "had courage", but it was clear he believed her message was wrong, our correspondent says.Mr Valls said she "had courage", but it was clear he believed her message was wrong, our correspondent says.
"A message that says 'Come, you will be welcome' provokes major shifts" in population, says Mr Valls."A message that says 'Come, you will be welcome' provokes major shifts" in population, says Mr Valls.
"Today, when we speak in Europe, a few seconds later it is mainly on the smartphones in the refugee camps." He added: "We know clearly that after the Cologne incidents that with the continuous flow, not only to Germany but the countries of Northern Europe, Austria, the Balkans are confronted with this influx, that's why we need to find practical solutions for our borders."
Extension of measures Mr Valls was referring to attacks in the German city on New Year's Eve - largely attributed to foreigners - that have sparked 800 complaints, 520 of them relating to sexual crimes.
Mrs Merkel will later hold talks on the migrant crisis with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Berlin.
EU countries hope Turkey will help to control the flow of migrants reaching the EU from Syria and other conflict zones.
On Friday, at least 15 people, including six children, died when their boats sank off the Greek islands of Farmakonisi and Kalolimnos, the Greek coastguard said.
Some 48 survivors reached shore but a number of other migrants were reported missing, it said.
'Eradicate IS'
On the issue of the state of emergency, Mr Valls said France was "at war", which meant "using all means in our democracy under the rule of law to protect French people".
Paris attacks: In depth
What happened on the night?
French politics shift to the right
The measure gives police more power to conduct raids and impose house arrests.
When asked how long he envisaged the state of emergency remaining, Mr Valls said: "The time necessary.
"As long as the threat is there, we must use all the means," he said, adding that it should stay in place "until we can get rid of Daesh", using an acronym for the IS group.
"In Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia we must eradicate, eliminate Daesh," he said. "It is a total and global war that we are facing with terrorism," he added. "The war we are conducting must also be total, global and ruthless."
Mr Valls said France "could see attacks again", adding that six plots had been foiled over the past few months.
Attackers linked to IS killed 130 people in co-ordinated assaults across Paris in November, leading to the first declaration of a state of emergency in France in 10 years.Attackers linked to IS killed 130 people in co-ordinated assaults across Paris in November, leading to the first declaration of a state of emergency in France in 10 years.
The measures expire on 26 February. The measures are set to expire on 26 February.
This week, a group of UN human rights experts said they were "excessive and disproportionate".This week, a group of UN human rights experts said they were "excessive and disproportionate".
France's government said on Wednesday that a decision on whether it would be extended beyond then would be announced "in the coming days".
President Francois Hollande is eager to enshrine the emergency measures under the constitution, a move that would see dual nationals stripped of their French nationality if found guilty of terrorist offences.
The group of UN experts this week expressed their concern that environmental activists had been kept under house arrest under the measures, which they said "do not seem to adjust to the fundamental principles of necessity and proportionality".
On Wednesday, France's leading human rights organisation called (in French) for the state of emergency to be suspended, calling it "a short-term measure only", adding that it was "highly intrusive towards personal freedoms".
"I think that we have perfectly adapted the means to the threat," Mr Valls told the BBC, responding to criticism of the measures. "This type of analysis always surprises me. Do you realise we have had 130 dead?"
Mr Valls said France "could see attacks again", adding that six plots had been foiled over the past few months.