Measures against Terror

In the aftermath of the attacks in Paris, Europe is taking measures against terror.

Roxana Vasile, 24.11.2015, 14:22

Army units
deployed on Brussels’s streets, where the level of terror alert is at its
highest…..tight controls on the borders of the EU….France in a state of emergency … Europe is now
trying to adapt following the bloody
terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13th.

Late last week, the EU
Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs held an emergency meeting in Brussels and
agreed upon several priority actions, such as the creation of a European
Passenger Name Record, tightening controls on the EU’s external borders, not
only for third-country citizens, but also for the EU ones, increased attention
paid to arms and the commitment to fund all priority measures. Attending the
summit in Brussels, the newly appointed Romanian Ministers of Justice and Home
affairs, Raluca Pruna and Petre Toba respectively, reiterated Bucharest’s
stand, which supports the measures aimed at ensuring the European citizens’
security and protecting European values and principles.

Justice Minister
Raluca Pruna: What
is important on the justice agenda is the fight against terror and Romania will
support this fight without hesitation. Together with the other EU member
countries, Romania will help find a rule of law response to terrorism in the
EU. The means by which this can be achieved is by updating the framework
decision on fighting terrorism, by including in the EU legislation provisions
that clearly incriminate such acts, just like the Council of Europe
legislation.

Many fear that jihadists may be
hiding among the refugees coming from Africa and the Middle East. Also
worrying, however, is the radicalization among those Europeans who are drawn to
the Islamist doctrine, some of them even choosing to fight alongside
extremists. One such example is that of several citizens of the neighboring
Republic of Moldova who, upon their return from Syria, have tried to illegally
cross the border with Romania, to then further advance towards France.

In
situations like this, the only solution is cooperation, believes the former
Romanian Justice Minister and head of Romanian diplomacy Cristian Diaconescu: A
confrontation with a form of terrorism that is so insidious and determined
cannot be successful if we leave it up to the individual member states, in the
absence of a clear form of cooperation between these states. So, in the coming
days, not weeks, Brussels will have to decide the direction that Europe will
take.

In the meantime, the French
president Francois Holland has started an intense diplomatic activity aimed at
rallying support for the fight against Islamic State, ten days after the attack
on his country. He is looking for support not only in Europe, but also in the
US and Russia.