Brussels, 14/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 14 June, the European Commission presented additional measures in seven specific areas to support member states in their efforts to prevent radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism.
The measures were presented as part of the European security agenda put forward in April 2015 (see EUROPE 11304) and the different areas of action seek to: - promote research that helps decrypt the complex phenomenon of radicalisation; - tackle online terrorist propaganda; - promote inclusive societies; - and fight radicalisation in prison. According Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for home affairs, only joint action by all stakeholders at national, European and international levels will help defeat radicalisation. And he added that this must also be a “holistic” approach.
Although the implementation of measures to tackle radicalisation is mainly introduced at local levels and therefore remains within the remit of the member states, the European Union can play a key role in cooperation, funding and the exchange of good practice.
The terrorist attacks perpetrated in Copenhagen, Paris and Brussels bear the signature of young Europeans who, according to the European commissioner for education and youth, Tibor Navracsics, “have grown up in our society and have been taught in our schools”. So far 4,000 European nationals have been involved in conflict zones in countries such as Syria and Iraq.
With a view to eradicating this phenomenon, Avramopoulos and Navracsics highlighted the issue of education. A quality education accompanied by the transmission of common European values at the earliest possible age remains, according to the Commission, the best safety net against social exclusion which, for some people, constitutes fertile ground for radicalisation.
The Erasmus + exchange programme is included in the action to achieve this objective and in 2016 more than €400,000 was made available for transnational partnerships to develop innovative approaches and practices on the ground. The Commission will also set up a network that enables local figures (whose action and behaviour can be seen as a benchmark) to go into schools and youth centres in an effort to develop social ties and prevent the dangers of radicalisation. In this respect Avramopoulos stated that “efforts must begin at a local level and involve teachers, youth workers and police officers”.
Navracsics stated that the Commission's absolute priority was to prevent young people becoming radicalised and “there's no time to lose”. Avramopoulos also said that they should stop working in isolation and that resilience against radicalisation would only come from a combination of its citizens and partners. (Original version in French by Maëlle Didion)