A new initiative to extend national restrictions on paedophiles across Europe won strong backing from the European Parliament earlier this month.

MEPs voted resoundingly for the proposal of the Belgian government which will mean EU member states will be able to cooperate more effectively to prohibit convicted child sex offenders from working with children.

The previous system only enabled European governments to exchange information about paedophiles without any guarantees that a ban from working with children in one country would be implemented in other member states.

The new laws adopted by the European Parliament earlier this year will change this situation meaning that a ban from working with children in any EU country will automatically disqualify child sex offenders from similar jobs across the EU as a whole. This new measure will prevent paedophiles from circumventing national restrictions by migrating to other EU countries.

This is another excellent example of how the European Union can achieve a safer Europe by working together, rather than as separate countries.