Brussels, 21/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - The group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament unveiled their proposals on Tuesday 21 April ahead of the presentation of the European Commission's new internal security agenda, expected on 28 April.
S&D again set out their red lines: while they will not engage in outright opposition to measures such as the European PNR, which will allow information on European passengers to be retained for anti-terrorism purposes, there must be full observance of fundamental rights and EU law.
The proposals from the Socialists and Democrats, presented by Tanja Fajon (Slovenia) and Knut Fleckenstein (Germany), are the fruit of the labours of the radicalisation working group set up by S&D. They address the social issues linked to de-radicalisation (education and increasing funding for awareness-raising and prevention of radicalisation in prison) and also respect for individual liberty, tackling discrimination and, in particular, tackling youth unemployment. The S&D also argue for improving dialogue with third countries, especially Turkey and Iran and, more generally, improving the quality of exchanges with the Muslim world.
Over lunch in Luxembourg on Tuesday, European foreign ministers also discussed radicalisation and what can be done to prevent it. European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans announced that a major international conference on this issue would be held in October. (Solenn Paulic)