Brussels, 26/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The question of the radicalisation of society and methods of propaganda such as speeches made on the internet (back under the spotlight, following the attacks in Oslo and Utoeya by the far right extremist Anders Behring Breivik) was included on the agenda of the home affairs ministers, who will be meeting on 22 September at the formal JHA Council. This announcement was made on Tuesday by Michele Cercone, the spokesperson for Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. The Swedish commissioner and the Polish Presidency have decided to organise a debate on the subject - a debate in which the Norwegian authorities will be invited to participate. They are expected to discuss the possible follow-up after the two attacks committed in Norway.
At the beginning of September, the Commission is also expected to launch its “radicalisation awareness network”, particularly on extremist manifestoes published on the internet. This was already planned as part of the Internal Security Strategy which was published at the end of last year. It will be based on information sharing between all civil society actors and the development of “best practice” to combat the proliferation of extremist ideas. The Commission is also preparing a discussion paper for ministers on how to fight “all kinds of radicalism, xenophobia and extremism”, added Cercone. The Commission plans to organise a ministerial conference in 2012 on the prevention of radicalisation.
On Tuesday, the spokesperson also defended the Commission's action to address some of the criticism directed at the Europol agency, which had not sufficiently evaluated the terrorist threat posed by the European extreme right (in comparison to Islamic extremism). He explained that Commissioner Malmström had consistently warned that EU27 against all forms of extremism and had not hesitated to warn states about the potential consequences of certain “demagogic and populist” ideas regarding immigrants, such as those expressed during the case of the Tunisian immigrant crisis when the migrants arrived en masse on the island of Lampedusa. (S.P./transl.fl)