"Our response must be firm and supportive", the Luxembourg Minister Nicolas Schmit stated at a plenary debate of the European Parliament on the recent terrorist attacks
The Luxembourg Minister Nicolas Schmit, who is responsible for relations with the European Parliament during the EU Council Presidency i, adressed the plenary session in Strasbourg on 8 July 2015 during a debate on the recent terrorist attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia.
"Our response must be firm and supportive", the Luxembourg Minister stated before MEPs. "The fight against terrorism is for our open and democratic societies one of the key challenges to be resolved and one of the top priorities of our presidency", he added.
To deal successfully with the fight against terrorism, the Luxembourg Presidency will build on the work undertaken by its predecessors. Let us remember that, on 26 June 2015, the European Council agreed that steps should be taken to reinforce the action taken against terrorist threats, building on the guidelines relating to the fight against terrorism adopted by the informal European Council on 12 February 2015 following the Paris attacks. Heads of state and government of the EU Member States had indicated that "that there would be a follow-up to the work carried out on the EU's renewed interior security strategy" as an extension of the Commission's "European Programme on security matters", presented in April 2015 with a view to revising this strategy, and the JHA Council's conclusions of 16 June 2015.
Nicolas Schmit pointed out that the Luxembourg Presidency would work to ensure that the EU adopts "a coherent global approach" to the fight against terrorism, which at the same time encompasses internal and external security aspects.
"The solid and fruitful" cooperation initiated among the Member States, the Commission, the European External Action Service and the EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator has, according to the Minister, been proven. "We have the tools at our disposal such as Europol, Eurojust, Frontex and CEPOL, which enable us to fight terrorism", explained Nicolas Schmit, stating that it was necessary "to give them the necessary means and resources".
Nicolas Schmit stressed "the broad international dimension of terrorism"
Recalling the debate on the European programme on security matters for the period 2015-2020, which was held the day before at the European Parliament, Nicolas Schmit stressed "the broad international dimension of terrorism." In his view, cooperation with the countries of North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf as well as with Turkey and the Balkans is essential, and a certain number of capacity building projects relating to the fight against terrorism had been approved. For example, workshops on this topic are already in place in the Lebanon and Turkey, and a task force responsible for strategic communication has been set up and commissioned to produce an awareness and communication strategy aimed at the Arab world.
"We must actively pursue cooperation with the United Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe and other international organisations, as well as bilateral collaboration with our key partners, such as the United States", advocated the Minister.
"Preventing radicalisation in our own countries as well as in the countries of our partners is key", Nicolas Schmit stated
In Nicolas Schmit's view, "preventing radicalisation in our own countries as well as in the countries of our partners is key." To prevent "young people at school in our countries from being attracted to terrorist networks", Nicolas Schmit indicated that more in-depth work needs to be done, "and on several levels: education, integration and values."
"To this end, the centre of excellence RAN (European Radicalisation Awareness Network) is about to be launched", Nicolas Schmit indicated. An internet content referral unit (EU IRU) was also set up on the 1st of July as part of Europol with a view to "reducing the level and impact of extremist and violent terrorist propaganda on the Internet, with full respect of fundamental rights."
Other measures should, according to the Minister, be taken; for example, the strengthening of the application of the Schengen framework. Furthermore, the Council considered adopting a decision on signing, in the name of the EU, an additional protocol at the Council of Europe convention on the prevention of terrorism, which will make the movements of foreign terrorist fighters illegal.
Externally, in partnership with countries where the terrorist threat is particularly serious, the Luxembourg Presidency will also seek to "fight the social causes of terrorism, for example, youth unemployment." "Next week we will propose a new cooperation initiative with the Maghreb countries on youth employment and professional training", he announced.
"The speed at which radicalisation is spreading is worrying", Nicolas Schmit pointed out
Before MEPs, Nicolas Schmit stressed that "the speed at which radicalisation is spreading is worrying." "In certain cases, young people are being radicalised in a period of just two months", he stated. He then announced that a conference on rehabilitation and radicalisation in prisons will be held on 19 and 20 October 2015. "We need to spread the messages aimed at countering terrorist propaganda and to launch concerted and well-organised campaigns in the media in particular", the Minister reiterated.
At the end of the debate, the Minister indicated that the Luxembourg Presidency would "make every possible effort to help prevent terrorist attacks happening again in the future." He also underlined that Luxembourg would try to secure an agreement on the EU PNR (Passenger Name Record) directive during its Presidency.
Le ministre luxembourgeois en charge des relations avec le Parlement européen lors de la Présidence du Conseil de l’UE, Nicolas Schmit, est intervenu au cours de la réunion plénière à Strasbourg, le 8 juillet 2015, lors d’un débat sur les récents attentats terroristes en France, au Koweït et en Tunisie.
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