France and Spain discuss anti-terrorism measures

The French President, Jacques Chirac, and the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, are holding a one-day summit in the northern Spanish town of Santander.

At the top of the agenda are terrorism, illegal immigration and France's upcoming presidency of the European Union.

Officials say both sides want to strengthen cooperation in the fight against the Basque separatist group, ETA, now that ETA has ended its ceasefire.

Correspondents say France has a special interest in this, because it emerged last year that a nationalist group in Brittany in north-western France had been collaborating with ETA to steal explosives. The summit comes as Spain is preparing to post an investigating magistrate to Paris to act as a liaison, in return for a similar move by France.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service