Murphy is proposing an end to visa-free travel to the U.S. if European nations are not more forthcoming with information about counterterrorism investigations.

HARTFORD — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy reiterated his call for new restrictions on a visa waiver program that allows Europeans to travel freely to the United States.

"This is a moment for the United States to have some really tough conversations with Europe," the Connecticut Democrat said at a state Capitol press conference Wednesday morning. "The United States is vulnerable to the Europeans' inability to root out these terrorists."

Murphy is proposing an end to visa-free travel to the U.S. if European nations are not more forthcoming with information about counterterrorism investigations.

Sen. Chris Murphy On U.S.-European Defense Strategies In Wake Of Brussels Attacks
Sen. Chris Murphy discusses the ways in which the U.S. and Europe can help each other with terror defense in the wake of the Brussels attacks.
"If the Europeans don't upload all of the information they have about their terrorism investigations into the no-fly list, then we should not allow Europeans to travel here visa-free," he said. "Now that's tough love, but it's necessary because of the continued questions we have about the Europeans' ability to track terrorists before the attacks happen."

Murphy is also calling on European countries to bolster their own counterterrorism efforts and improve information-sharing and collaboration on investigations across national boundaries.

Murphy acknowledged that some European nations have a deep distrust of the U.S. intelligence establishment. But, "the Europeans have to get over their allergy to the United States' methodology of counterterrorism," he said. "We will protect the information they give us and we need it in order to make sure our no-fly list is up to date."

Murphy made the same proposal during a press conference at the state Capitol in December, following the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris.

Before granting a visa waiver, Murphy said the U.S. needs to pass reforms requiring European nations and other foreign countries to share intelligence about foreign fighters and meet Department of Homeland Security standards regarding the collection and analysis of data concerning dangerous individuals.

Murphy is a member of the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee and a ranking member of the foreign relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism.