Paris, 03/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - During its study days in Paris, on Wednesday 2 July, the EPP-ED Group of the European Parliament stressed the importance of going further in the fight against terrorism, a real “gangrene for our democracies”, as Joseph Daul put it. Several speakers above all stressed the importance of improving data sharing and intelligence data on mechanisms for recruiting terrorists.
Jaime Mayor Oreja of Spain, who is vice-president of the EPP-ED Group at the EP, considers three lines of reflection: - one does not fight a phenomena but organisations (terrorists have aims, means, etc.) and there are two ways of proceeding in order to get rid of them (negotiating with them or eliminating them from society); - one must identify the kind of terrorism afflicting the country; - and one must go from a virtual EU to a real EU in the fight against terrorism. Furthermore, the EU must cooperate better with the United States in combating terrorism.
Walid Phares, of the European Foundation for Democracy, whose head office is in Brussels, has made an analysis of “Jihad terrorism” and stressed the need, for European countries to define the ideology of these terrorists to “liberate Arab-Muslim communities from racism”. He also recommended supporting democratic forces in the Arab and Muslim world.
William Shapcott, Director of the European Union's Joint Situation Centre (SITCEN), specified that one tenth of those who return from Jihad lands (such as Afghanistan) contemplate taking part in terrorist activities.
Gilles de Kerchove, the European Union's counter-terrorism coordinator, said there is still much to be done (see also EUROPE 9559), especially in two of the four axes of the strategy for combating terrorism defined in 2005, namely prevention and response (the two others being protection and prosecution). When it comes to prevention, Mr de Kerchove recalled that the European Commission “hesitates” to present a communication on the problem of radicalisation to avoid “stigmatising a community”. The Commission, however, has “things to tell us” on this subject (education or training of imams, intercultural dialogue, etc.) as it has collected the best practices of EU countries in this field. Gilles de Kerchove found 5 EU member states who agree to take leadership in order to move faster in some fields: counter-arguments in order to neutralise terrorist theories, the training of imams and local policing. Regarding response, it would be necessary to increase member states' resistance capability, mobilise EU resources in the Sahel and Pakistan, and strengthen transatlantic dialogue. Gilles de Kerchove also spoke of improvements to be made in the other two directions. On protection, it is appropriate to place emphasis on the protection of critical infrastructure and on new security technology (an allocation of €1.4 billion is earmarked for this for the period 2007-2013). With respect to prosecution, he urged for the Council to define (in association with the EP) “the outlines of a European policy for collecting and sharing data”, the creation of a “real” mandate for obtaining proof, and better collaboration between Europol and Eurojust. Finally, he advised that intelligence services should work with the police. (L.C./transl.jl)