Airlines told they must reveal passenger data

The EU unveiled a range of measures on Tuesday to combat terrorism, draft laws which would criminalize use of the Internet to incite or recruit for acts of terrorism and compel airlines to supply information, to be stored for 13 years, on all air passengers flying into or out of the EU.

The proposals, likely to be in force across the EU within three years, could turn Europe into the most monitored space on the planet, according to civil rights campaigners.

Arguing that the Internet was a "virtual training ground" for international terrorism, Franco Frattini, the European commissioner for justice and security, denied that Internet service providers or electronic media would need to police their content. "This is not feasible and could actually be Orwellian," he said, unveiling the package. "Those telling others how to commit acts of destruction - with a clear terrorist intention - should be put behind bars. Be it on the Internet or print."