Major European leaders have condemned the attack that occurred on Monday evening 19 December. This has been described as “probably a terrorist attack” and involved a lorry ploughing into the crowd at a Berlin Christmas market, killing at least 12 people and injuring many others.
On Tuesday morning, the German police announced that the lorry driver had "deliberately" driven into the crowd at the Christmas market and said that this was "probably a terrorist attack". In a message addressed to the German nation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she did not understand what reasons could have motivated such an atrocity. She also said that this tragedy would not prevent Germans from finding the strength to live as they so wished in their country, "free together and open to the world".
President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker addressed his thoughts to the families of the victims, in a press release drafted on Monday evening. President of the European Council Donald Tusk did likewise and said that he was deeply saddened by these events. On Tuesday, following the attack perpetrated in Berlin, France's President François Hollande stated "the French share the German people’s grief after this tragedy affecting the whole of Europe".
US President-elect Donald Trump denounced "Islamic terrorists" who were continually "attacking Christians".
Measures imminent for combating the funding of terrorism
On Wednesday 21 December, the Commission is expected to present a new raft of measures to tackle the funding of terrorism, with 2016 being a year again characterised by attacks – such as those in Brussels on 22 March and in Nice on 14 July. The Commission is also due to present measures to enhance the Schengen Information System by including more information in it, as explained this autumn by Commissioner Julian King.
The aim is to strengthen the quality of data gathered and create a new kind of alert, King explained on 8 November (see EUROPE 11663). These proposals include technical measures and one of the objectives is to identify people being sought on the basis of their digital fingerprints by way of a new kind of alert. Member states will also be requested to include people in the SIS system who have been forbidden entry onto European territory, as well as those who are subject to decisions on returns. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)