BARCELONA (voa) – European Union leaders are gathering Friday in Barcelona, Spain, for a summit under the city’s tightest security in a decade.
Authorities have sealed off the site of the two-day conference. Fighter jets are patrolling the skies and about 8,500 police officers have been mobilized to prevent any terror attacks or anti-globalization violence.
Officials have expressed concern that Islamic extremists could strike in retaliation for Spain detaining suspected members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network. Security forces are also on alert to prevent violence from the Basque separatist group ETA.
At the summit, the leaders from 15 EU member nations and 13 candidate countries are set to discuss integrating the European labor, energy and financial markets.
Talks are also expected to focus on an EU plan adopted two years ago to build what EU officials say will be the world’s most competitive and dynamic economy by 2010.
The leaders are expected to call for joint European, U.S. and Arab backing to a Saudi peace plan, which calls for Arab states to recognize Israel diplomatically if Israel withdrawals from the territories it occupied in 1967.
In Barcelona on Thursday, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully to demand improved workers’ rights.
