Alwaght- European countries increased their security measures after a truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people.
The attack sent shockwaves across Europe, prompting some countries to join Germany in bolstering their security measures at events over the festive season.
Based on a recent security boost plan, Berlin Christmas markets will remain closed for one day in the wake of the attack.
Police presence is to increase in the German capital and concrete bollards are to be installed at certain Christmas markets in order to prevent any vehicles veering onto pedestrianized areas, a spokesman for the state of Berlin‘s interior ministry told DPA.
While state interior ministers outside Berlin agreed that shutting Christmas markets was not necessary, they agreed to implement tougher measures on a state by state level.
The premier of the eastern state of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, said concrete bollards will be put in place at Dresden's popular Christmas market. He also asked interior ministry officials to generally boost security precautions.
French President Francois Hollande said that the country's security level remained high under an ongoing state of emergency, pointing to strict security measures already in place for public spaces in France, which has repeatedly been the target of violent attacks in recent years.
"We need to be sure, for our fellow citizens, that all measures have been taken," French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said on Tuesday. Le Roux later travelled to assess security at the Christmas market in the northern French city of Strasbourg, which was the target of a failed bomb attack in 2000.
Local authorities have also stepped up security. Christmas markets around country have seen additional measures as well as police patrols. In Paris, concrete blocks have been set up around the market on Champs-Elysee to obstruct large vehicles. In Nice, visitors have to pass through metal detectors in order to access the market.
London police said they will review security measures for Christmas and New Year's Eve events in the British capital "following the awful incidents in Berlin and Ankara last night," referencing the assassination of the Russian ambassador in the Turkish capital also Monday night.
Meanwhile, police in Manchester, which hosts one of Britain's biggest Christmas markets, said they have already "strengthened presence and visibility" at the market.
After calling a special meeting with police and intelligence officials, Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti ordered security to be stepped up in all crowded areas, tourist hotspots and at Christmas-related public events.
Austria's Interior Ministry told Christmas market organizers to revise their security plans in reaction to the truck attack. The country's security forces have also been placed on high alert.
Outside of Europe, the New York Police Department (NYPD) said it was monitoring the events in Germany and increasing security measures in the city.
"The Department has moved highly trained teams, including the Critical Response Command, to high profile locations around New York City," the NYPD said.
