European Union looks to respond to threat of radical Islam

Belgian soldiers and police officers patrol outside the European Council headquarters in central Brussels January 19, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU foreign ministers on Monday discussed setting up a new network of European security agents abroad as they sought a united response to the threat from militant Islamists following the attacks in Paris on Jan. 7.

The meeting aimed to lay the groundwork for an EU leaders summit on Feb. 12-13 in Brussels which will cement the bloc's strategy to deal with young European Muslims heading to Middle East war zones or returning radicalised from the region.