European Responses to Terrorism

Gathered in Brussels, the EU foreign ministers called for enhanced measures to fight terrorism.

Roxana Vasile, 20.01.2015, 13:34

Europeans have decided to involve Turkey, a country with a predominantly Muslim population, and the Arab countries in their fight against terrorism. The decision was made following the recent attacks in Paris, the actions taken by several EU countries against Islamist factions on their territories, and also the revolt in the Muslim world triggered by new caricatures of prophet Mohamed published in France.

Against that background, at Monday’s meeting in Brussels of the EU foreign ministers, EU officials announced the preparation of cooperation projects with Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Yemen and the Gulf countries. Security attachés will be deployed in all EU delegations in those countries and communication will be improved with the Arab populations in Europe and the Arab community as a whole. We should not forget that the first victims of terrorism are the very Muslims in the Arab countries. Therefore, dialogue and cooperation are needed in order to cast away the perception that this is a clash of civilizations, the EU officials also stressed. That is why, the fight against terrorism should not just be military in nature, it should be carried out at intellectual, cultural, religious and communication level.

According to Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, terrorism at European level should be fought against also by solving the integration issues facing the Muslim communities. Bogdan Aurescu:

“ We need alternative programs and initiatives focusing on these very issues that relate to the economic, social and cultural integration of those communities that are vulnerable to radicalization, and are therefore easer to recruit as members of terrorist groups”.

Also following the attacks in Paris, the EU officials decided to focus on several priority measures, such as a better coordination with regard to the exchange of information and secret services, both inside and outside the EU. Other measures envisage a tighter control upon entering the Schengen area, fighting arms trafficking and talks on the creation of a common air passenger registry, to identify the potential jihadist terrorists who come back to Europe to perpetrate attacks. The European Parliament has been blocking that draft law since 2011, asking for guarantees that personal data will be protected. All the measures that are to be taken in the coming period, however, the Romanian Foreign Ministry warns, must be implemented in full observance of the fundamental rights and freedoms, and by taking into consideration the benefits of the European integration process, especially the freedom of movement within the EU.