Brussels, 05/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to the EU Anti-Terrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, quoted in the newspaper, Le Soir, the EU would be setting up an experts' group to provide advice to governments about jihadi propaganda and ways of tackling it.
The EU official explained that the idea was to set up an experts' cell, “in Belgium that is capable of providing European countries with immediate responses to a very pronounced communications problem”. Experts from this pilot project will provide the “counter narrative” and other messages to combat propaganda from the Islamic State groups and other jihadist groups that are very active on social media networks, explained de Kerchove. He said that they would, for example, be able to broadcast interviews from disillusioned jihadists returning from Syria, shocked by the violence perpetrated and the fact that this was not about overthrowing the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, but a struggle between rival insurgent groups. He also clarified the fact that this project had not yet been finalised but that the European Commission was planning to provide funding of €1 million over an 18-month period for five or six experts who would be working at the Belgian Home Office. (SP)