The EU's new anti-terrorism co-ordinator, Mr Gijs de Vries, will meet justice and home affairs ministers today to discuss the urgent implementation of measures to deal with the terrorist threat to Europe.
Mr de Vries, a former Dutch interior minister, started work yesterday, just four days after EU leaders agreed his appointment at a summit in Brussels.
In an interview with French radio, he warned that restricting civil liberties in the name of combating terrorism would grant a victory to the terrorists.
"I believe we have to be careful not to fall into the trap set by the terrorists. Terrorists would like Europe to react by reducing our attachment to public freedoms and tolerance. However, we must absolutely preserve the open character of our society," he said.
Among the proposals the ministers will discuss today is a plan for an EU scheme to compensate victims of terrorism. The ministers are likely to agree that all member-states should introduce similar schemes.
The ministers are also due to discuss a proposal for common rules on asylum that would automatically reject asylum applications from nationals of certain countries and would limit the right of asylum seekers to appeal if they are refused refugee status.
Human rights groups yesterday demanded that the EU scrap the proposals, claiming that the measures would be against international law and could endanger the lives of refugees.
Ms Daphné Bouteillet Paquet of Amnesty International said the proposals had been shaped by populist pressures and groundless fears of a flood of asylum seekers.
"We no longer regard this proposal as credible. It is in breach of the EU's own commitments in the Charter of Fundamental Rights," she said.