Brussels, 25/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and Council marked a minute's silence on Monday 25 July for the 93 people who were killed in a bomb attack and shooting spree in Norway, for which a right-wing extremist has confessed responsibility. “We have all watched with profound grief the tragic events which unfolded in Norway last Friday”, EU Maritime Affairs Commissioner Maria Damanaki said. “But as Norway grieves, let us turn these words into a deep and unfaltering resolve; a resolve to stand firm with the principles of democracy and freedom for which the young people who were massacred last Friday will be remembered forever”, she said. Anders Behring Breivik, 32, appeared in court on Monday for a first hearing held behind closed doors. He was arrested on Utoeya island some 40 kilometres from Oslo where he had shot dead at least 86 people, many of them young. A further seven people had been killed earlier in a car bombing outside the prime minister's office in Oslo. He has said through his lawyer that his acts were “gruesome but necessary”. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the “heinous acts of violence” in Norway. “Our solidarity with Norway remains steadfast. NATO countries stand united in the battle against these acts of violence”, he said in a statement. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Council President Herman Van Rompuy and High Representative Catherine Ashton also expressed sorrow and condemnation at the news. “An attack of this magnitude is not something one would expect in Norway, famously associated with peace at home and peace-making abroad”, Barroso said. EU Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said the killings were a tragedy for all of Norway and the world. “This is an unimaginable tragedy for the families who lost their loved ones, young people at the outset of their adult life, fascinated with public service”, he said in a statement. “It is shocking how one can inflict so much evil”. Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats group in the Parliament said: “We were shocked by the attacks and we are deeply concerned about the young people on the island who were taking part in a Labour Party youth camp”.
In response to the killings, the worst in Norway since World War II, EU Justice Commissioner Cecilia Malmström contacted Norway's justice minister, proposing help and experts, while Europol also offered its services. No request for help has been made, her spokesman said. The spokesman underlined that the Commission has been working for some time to combat radicalisation, particularly over the internet, and extremism, and on ways to track the movement of firearms into the Union. EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove said the EU could offer help through Europol to gather information more quickly. He underlined that some member states had strong policies to combat extremism with, and that “it is of critical importance to share best practice”. The secretary general of the European People's Party, Antonio Lopez-Isturiz, said: “The Oslo blast has brought back memories from the Madrid and London bombings which remind us that European values need to be defended continuously. Today, all Europeans are Norwegians”. (LoC)