European bomb detection experts will meet Friday to examine whether Europe needs to step up air cargo security measures following parcel bomb plots in Greece and Yemen, an official said.
"The terrorist threat is still here," Michele Cercone, European Commission spokesman for home affairs, told a news briefing. "We must remain active and vigilant at the level of (EU) member states and at the European level."
The European Union is working closely with international allies on the issue, including the United States, Canada and Australia, he said.
The EU's Belgian presidency and the commission called the meeting of experts on the detection of explosives and scanning of cargo to "evaluate the response to the threats" that emerged in recent days, Cercone said.
The spokesman for European home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem stressed that the meeting was aimed at taking stock of the situation and that no proposals had been put on the table to change the rules for the moment.
Security rules at the European level apply solely to parcels that depart from EU member states, he said, adding that the EU has some of the world's "strictest" measures.
“To my knowledge there are no proposals to block mail from third countries at this stage," Cercone said.
On Tuesday, a package containing explosives arrived at German Chancellor Angela Merkel's offices in Berlin in what authorities said was a thwarted attack linked to a mail bombing campaign in Greece.
While no one was injured, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the bomb "could have caused not insignificant damage" if it had exploded.
In total, around a dozen small parcel bombs were discovered addressed to the leaders of France, Germany and Italy and foreign embassies in Athens.
Police managed to track down most of the parcels accounted for since the plot surfaced on Monday but not before one made its way to the German chancellery mail room in Berlin, where it was neutralised by Merkel's staff.
The parcel intended for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was found on a courier plane bound for Paris that was rerouted to Bologna late on Tuesday night.
Greece imposed a two-day ban on all international mail while police hunted for a gang of left-wing militants believed to be behind the campaign.
Last week, two parcels sent from Yemen and addressed to Jewish institutions in Chicago containing the lethal explosive PETN hidden in ink toner cartridges were uncovered in Britain and Dubai en route to the United States.
They have been linked to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the local franchise of Osama bin Laden's jihadist network, and a Saudi bombmaker believed to be hiding in Yemen.
The bomb found in Britain had been routed via the western German city of Cologne.
Merkel called on Wednesday for better freight security coordination.
She said that there was "a great deal of movement in the radical Islamic scene."
"Up until now, we have been able to thwart several attacks by excellent international cooperation and the work of our own security forces," Merkel said.
"However, I won't dress things up. There is a danger. Everyone needs to be vigilant."
EU Interior Ministers are set to discuss the coordination of security measures at the European level during a regular meeting on Monday and Tuesday.