Wednesday

27th Sep 2023

Paris attack prompts calls for greater security powers

  • A commemmoration service for the victims in Reims (Photo: villedereims)

A number of officials and ministers are calling for expanded surveillance and security powers in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris.

The head of the UK’s domestic intelligence service MI5, Andrew Parker, on Thursday (8 January) said it needs greater snooping powers to stop Islamist militants from carrying out attacks in Britain.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Parker said some privacy rules need to be roll backed in order for the agency to properly conduct its operations, warning more attacks are “highly likely”, reports the Guardian newspaper.

“My sharpest concern as director general of MI5 is the growing gap between the increasingly challenging threat and the decreasing availability of capabilities to address it.”

For Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, it means stepping up investments in security and defence.

“We have to invest in security, to invest in defence. Because we have to strengthen our ability, and adapt to the new security environment,” he said in statement.

This includes tracking people who have left for Syria and Iraq to fight alongside ISIS.

Estimates put forward by the EU police agency Europol suggest up to 2,500 fighters are EU nationals. The fear is that some who return may carry out terror attacks on EU soil.

"In Italy, we have counted 53 foreign fighters," Italian interior minister Angelino Alfano told RAI public broadcaster on Thursday.

Alfano said this means police surveillance should be increased on the Internet where some potential jihadists are recruited.

Other national measures seek to prevent people from fighting along Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria by tracking their flight passenger details or confiscating their passports.

Meanwhile, the hunt for the Charlie Hebdo gunmen continues in the Picardy region of northern France. The two brothers were spotted on Thursday in the area after robbing a petrol station.

The French government has deployed some 88,000 police officers in the effort.

Twelve people died in Wednesday's gun attack, including a Muslim police officer Ahmed Merabet, who was shot in the head after attempting to stop the killers from fleeing the scene.

Mosques across France are set to condemn the violence on Friday.

Opinion

Europe and free speech: A race to the bottom?

Whether dealing with terrorism, extremism, racism or privacy concerns, the European default solution seems to involve chipping away at freedom of expression.

EU unveils plan for new security networks

The EU commission has proposed new measures to combat terrorism and organised crime, but many depend on member states' intelligence sharing - a traditionally sovereign domain.

Opinion

Perspectives against extremism

We need to try and understand why the Paris and Verviers attacks were committed by young adults born and raised in the heart of Europe.

Opinion

Orbán's 'revenge law' is an Orwellian crackdown on education

On Tuesday, the Hungarian parliament passed a troubling piece of legislation known by its critics as the 'revenge law', which aims to punish and intimidate teachers who dare to defy Viktor Orbán's regime. This law is a brutally oppressive tool.

Latest News

  1. EU and US urge Azerbijan to allow aid access to Armenians
  2. EU warns of Russian 'mass manipulation' as elections loom
  3. Blocking minority of EU states risks derailing asylum overhaul
  4. Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?
  5. IEA says: Go green now, save €11 trillion later
  6. The failure of the Just Energy Transition Fund in South Africa
  7. EU and G7 tankers facilitating Russian oil exports, report finds
  8. EU trade chief in Beijing warns China of only 'two paths' forward

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us