Suspicious package found at EU office

Published December 31, 2003

THE HAGUE, Dec 30: A suspicious package was found on Tuesday at the European crime fighting organization, Eurojust, in The Hague after EU organizations ramped up security following a spate of parcel bombs blamed on Italian anarchist groups.

Four parcel bombs have now been sent from the Italian city of Bologna, including one to European Commission president Romano Prodi sent on Saturday, followed by booby-trapped packages received on Monday by European Central Bank (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet and Europol chief Juergen Storbeck.

Bologna prosecutor Enrico Di Nicola told Italian daily Corriere della Sera “anarchist groups” were responsible for the attempted attacks.

Prosecutors in Germany, where the ECB has its headquarters, began an investigation into an unnamed Italian anarchist group for attempted murder over the device sent to Trichet.

The Dutch prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday that a suspicious package was found at Eurojust after sources in the Italian city of Bologna told the news agency ANSA that a parcel bomb had been sent there.

A team of explosives experts was at the scene to investigate the package.—AFP