Brussels, 01/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the JHA Council endorsed several counter-terrorism measures before they were adopted by the European Council on 15 and 16 November. Nearly one year after the European Council had decided to develop a strategy for combating the radicalisation and recruitment of terrorists, ministers agreed on a political framework with a view to eradicating the underlying causes that lead to the terrorist scourge. Gijs de Vrijs, Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, said this new threat is all the more difficult to identify as there is no direct link between poverty and terrorism. National intelligence services, he said, must therefore double their efforts to identify potential dangers. The British Presidency above all placed emphasis on the need for control of the Internet, which plays an active role in recruitment and radicalisation. Ministers also accepted the Presidency's proposal on implementing a new European counter-terrorism strategy based on several principles: - prevention of radicalisation and recruitment, the protection of citizens and infrastructures, the need to dismantle the logistic networks of terrorists, and the response to be given when facing the consequences of an eventual terrorist attack. Commissioner Franco Frattini said he was “very pleased with the work accomplished over the past six months by the Commission and the Member States in the counter-terrorism field”. The French minister for spatial planning, Christian Estrosi, recalls that “in the past, ministers had taken a unanimous stance on the need to fight together against terrorism”. He went on to add: “We trust that this time, these fine intentions will really be followed up with action”. Charles Clarke, Council President, confirmed that “this plan of action will be implemented by the Austrian EU Presidency”. In parallel to this strategy, the Council gave a warm welcome to the half-yearly report from the EU's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Gijs de Vrijs, on the action plan for combating terrorism, adopted in June 2004. According to Gijs de Vrijs, “significant progress has been made to combat terrorism when it comes to protecting transport and economic infrastructures such as airports and ports, but also on the ground strictly speaking thanks to the work of Europol and Eurojust” but “there is still much to be done, above all for the protection of victims and in the field of human rights”. The Presidency also stresses the huge effort still to be made to strengthen legal cooperation.
The Council adopted a British Presidency report suggesting establishing a temporary structure of representatives of the EU and Member States likely to be targets of terrorist attacks or big crises like the avian flu pandemic (see EUROPE 9078). The Council also gave the go-ahead to the external dimensions of the area of freedom, justice and security, prioritising counter-terrorism, combatting organised crime and managing immigrant flows.
Following the communication unveiled on Wednesday by the European Commission (see EUROPE 9079), the Council recognised the need for an overall EU policy on immigration. The British Presidency said the communication was very positive and most Member States described it as providing a full and balanced picture of the problem. Member States area aware that immigration can be a source of wealth for the EU but also a source of problems (because of illegal immigration) said a European source. Commenting on the European Commission's text, Germany and Spain said it was important to take account of European public opinion in order to combat illegal immigration effectively. Germany, Greece and Cyprus want reflection on the impact of giving illegal immigrants official papers in Europe, claiming that such measures could give rise to terrorist attacks and lead to the spread of organised crime. Repeating a move it made during the General Affairs Council of 21/22 November, Malta again suggested to make aid for countries illegal immigrants travel through subject to the signing of readmission agreements.
After long debate, the ministers eventually managed to reach agreement on the draft framework agreement on simplifying the exchange of information and surveillance among EU Member States' law enforcement bodies.
The Council gave the green light to an increase of EUR 250 mil in aid to Afghanistan to fund the war on drugs.