Brussels, 11/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - Just over a month after the attacks in Paris killed 17 people and a few weeks after the foiled plots in Belgium, the leaders of the EU are to agree, in Brussels on Thursday 12 February, on a raft of actions to implement to prevent terrorist attacks.
In a declaration centred around three subject areas - the security of the Europeans, preventing radicalisation and cooperation with third countries - the heads of state and government of Europe are expected to reiterate their hopes for the swift adoption of the directive on the European PNR (the files on European airline passengers), to step up the controls on the external borders of the EU in order to increase the monitoring of foreign combatants and to develop cooperation with the Internet majors to help take down violent content and that which promotes radicalisation.
Schengen borders code
In a discussion which some observers predict will not be very long, given the many ministerial meetings already held upstream and the other important subjects, the Twenty-Eight will be aiming, amongst other things, to clarify whether or not the 'Schengen borders code' needs to be amended to tighten up controls on the external borders, to push through new legislative instruments to counter radicalisation on the Internet or to give the European Parliament a few guarantees on the subject of data protection reform, in exchange for the EP's support for the PNR. However, according to one source, the final declaration is not expected to be a million miles away from the one which has been circulating in recent days. On the 'Schengen code', several member states and the Commission are fairly reluctant to get into a legislative process and would rather stick to a maximum interpretation of the current rules. On the European PNR, a diplomatic source said that it has been put on record not to recommend the inclusion of intra-European flights, which would have the effect of further galvanising the EP, which has only just given a bit of ground on the dossier.
On Wednesday, it was an open question as to whether the leaders of the EU would commit, in their final declaration, to progress regarding the reform of the rules on the protection of personal data. The EP put this question to the Council and on Wednesday, the provisional declaration of the Summit referred only to 'solid guarantees for the protection of personal data'. The discussion on the PNR with Martin Schulz will be important for the Twenty-Eight, as the president of the European Parliament has personally pledged to work towards the rapid conclusion of the dossier.
As for radicalisation over the Internet, it was not yet a matter of calling for a directive on Wednesday, but of stepping up cooperation with the Internet major players and taking appropriate measures to remove violent content. For the rest, the Twenty-Eight are expected to reiterate the importance of reinforcing Europol and Eurojust and sharing information between these agencies and the member states. Developing counter-propaganda on the Internet to prevent combatants from leaving for war zones is another line of action, together with fighting radicalisation in schools and at local level. On cooperation with third countries, the contribution of the foreign ministers has been taken up, with the idea of reinforcing the dynamic of fighting terrorism in all partnerships, particularly those with the Middle East and North Africa. The Twenty-Eight are expected to ask the Commission to present its new Internal Security Agenda in April. However, the services of Commissioner Avramopoulos repeated on Wednesday that at this stage, they would rather stick to the date originally set, May, and not have to rush the proposals. (Solenn Paulic with JK, CG, MB, EL)