The European Commission wants to better prevent terrorist attacks on European soil by better detecting threats and the radicalisation of certain individuals, particularly online.
It also wants to strengthen innovation, by making it possible to better detect suspicious objects, and to work more in the field, for example in prisons, by supporting actions to reintegrate radicalised prisoners.
These are some of the actions presented on Wednesday 9 December by the Vice-President responsible for promoting the European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, and the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, at a time when the threat of terrorist is currently found in jihadism or actions attributed to the extreme right.
Alongside this counter-terrorism plan, which is primarily based on non-legislative measures, the two leaders also presented on Wednesday an expected revision of the mandate of the police cooperation agency Europol, whose tools for technological innovation will be strengthened and which will also be able to process a larger amount of personal data (big data).
“We must not lose anyone along the way; we must prevent breaches, prevent vulnerable people from falling prey to terrorism”, the Vice-President said at a press conference, stressing that the attacks are aimed at undermining the European way of life, which is based on inclusion, “the rejection of hatred of others” and which “is not optional”.
“We want to defend this model at all costs against those who want to attack it”, he added. The communication presented on Wednesday states that counter-radicalisation projects promoted by a new European knowledge forum on radicalisation will not receive public money if they are “incompatible with European values or pursue an illegal agenda”.
After the recent attacks in Paris and Vienna, however, the Commission has not opted for new legislation, with the exception of Europol, and has focused mainly on vulnerabilities already identified in the past.
Among the measures on the table, the Commission intends to help local communities to secure their public infrastructure, but also places of worship: it will set up an instrument for urban security with European funds and could consider minimum obligations for the security of public spaces, it says in its communication.
The Vice-President cited the city of Nice as a good example in this respect, with “its palm trees” which combine “decoration and security elements in public spaces”.
Transport, hospitals, power stations or aviation will also have to be the subject of specific proposals and become more resilient. A Regulation on critical protection of infrastructure to this effect will be presented on 15 December.
In another area, a network of magistrates dedicated to the fight against terrorist financing will also be set up in 2021, as well as a communications code for European police forces in order to strengthen their exchanges.
With regard to the aspect of ‘radicalisation’, a European Forum for knowledge of the phenomenon will be set up: it will be able to support actions on the ground, but will ensure that actions that are not in line with European values “do not receive public money“.
On the issue of radicalisation, the Commission is also largely counting on the outcome of the trilogue on the removal of terrorist content online, scheduled for 10 December and on which Ms Johansson said she was “confident” on Wednesday. She is also counting on the Digital Services Act slated for 15 December, which will have an ‘online hate’ component.
Commissioner Johansson stressed the usefulness of a framework for such content when Europol removed more than 5,000 pieces of online terrorist content in one day this summer, including tutorials “learning how to make bombs, how to escape surveillance”.
The Action Plan further recalls the work to be carried out by the Member States on the interoperability of databases or the strengthening of external borders with better identification of persons entering European territory.
As the systematic checks at the external borders of all citizens – which include European citizens, were decided in 2017 and are still not fully operational – the Commissioner asked Member States to make an effort in this area.
The Vice-President, for his part, recalled that the legislation on firearms, adopted in the aftermath of the Bataclan attacks in Paris in 2015, was not fully implemented either, with 25 Member States in default.
As for the interoperability of European information systems, there has been a delay and 2023 is now the target date for entry into force.
Europol
Europol’s mandate is not undergoing any real revolution either, but should nevertheless enable the agency to strengthen its work with private actors, for example social networking platforms and banks, from which it could more easily request data.
Europol also needs to better assist Member States’ investigations and to have more capacity to analyse “large and complex” data. Europol must also develop its research centre to ensure its mastery of new communications and help Member States to better decipher messages and identify their authors.
However, Europol will not receive new powers with regard to encryption. Member States currently expect the Commission to identify technical and legal solutions in this area, but Europol could have a greater operational role.
Timid reactions
The Plan was received with little enthusiasm in the European Parliament, with the Renew Europe group welcoming elements “which are going in the right direction as far as Europol is concerned”. But the group argued for a greater capacity for action for the agency and autonomous investigations.
The Greens/EFA, for their part, had a little more difficulty with the elements concerning encryption and processing of personal data by Europol and adopted the view, in a statement, that the proposed reform actually only reinforces illegal practices.
Link to the Communication: https://bit.ly/2VWcxYF Link to the Europol Regulation: https://bit.ly/36YeFp6 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)