Wednesday

29th Mar 2023

EU ministers to discuss terrorism amid tightened security

  • Tributes outside a Jewish supermarket in Paris, the scene of a recent attack (Photo: state.gov)

EU foreign ministers on Monday (19 December) are meeting in Brussels to discuss anti-terrorism strategies in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack.

EU nationals leaving for Iraq and Syria to fight alongside Islamic militant is likely to dominate the talks. Estimates suggest up to 5,000 so-called foreign fighters in the two counties are EU citizens.

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

The fear is that some who return may decide to launch attacks.

Counter measures are already being passed in some member states to seize travel documents of suspected jihadists. The idea has received backing from the European Commission.

Last October, the ministers pledged their support to fight the Islamic state and other radical militant groups in the two countries.

They had also backed the US-led military campaign and other United Nations resolutions to stop the black market sale of oil that helps bankroll the Islamic state.

But Monday’s meeting follows a series of anti-terror raids across Belgium, France, and Germany that saw more than 20 people apprehended.

With Belgian troops deployed in the city streets over the weekend to guard potential targets like Jewish schools and the US and French embassies, there is a heightened sense of insecurity.

Belgium’s national security threat level has been raised to three - its second highest.

An Ipsos poll in Belgium suggest over 80 percent of the population fear another attack after the fatal shoot out last Thursday between two suspected militants and police in Verviers.

Police seized guns, explosives, at large stash of case, and police uniforms at the premises. Prosecutors say the suspects were set to launch a deadly attack against police.

Meanwhile, a 27-year old Belgian national suspected of being the mastermind behind the foiled Verviers plot was detained in Greece along with another suspect.

But Belgium's federal prosecutor later told Le Soir newspaper that the two held in Greece have no connection to the uncovered Verviers cell.

Belgian police continued house searches on Sunday but made no arrests.

The country has the highest number of per capita foreign fighters in Europe with 350 out of a population of 11 million. Around 100 have reportedly returned and another 50 killed in action abroad.

A top EU official warned that not all threats could be contained.

The head of the EU’s police agency, Europol, told Sky News on Saturday that it is not possible to prevent all attack plots.

“Stopping everything is very difficult, containing the threat fully is very difficult, but I’m sure we will prevail, as we have prevailed against other forms of terrorism in the past,” he said.

Meanwhile, in France some 10,000 troops have been deployed following the three-day killing spree in Paris.

An Ifop poll in France suggests four out of ten people surveyed say the media should not publish cartoons that could offend Muslims.

EU ministers call for more border checks

EU interior ministers have called for changes to the passport-free Schengen area to allow for "systematic checks" of personal data to fight terrorism.

Opinion

Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Every year, neo-Nazis come together to pay tribute to Nazi war criminals and their collaborators, from Benito Mussolini to Rudolf Hess, Ante Pavelić, Hristo Lukov, and of course Adolf Hitler, in events that have become rituals on the extreme-right calendar.

Latest News

  1. The overlooked 'crimes against children' ICC arrest warrant
  2. EU approves 2035 phaseout of polluting cars and vans
  3. New measures to shield the EU against money laundering
  4. What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking
  5. Dear EU, the science is clear: burning wood for energy is bad
  6. Biden's 'democracy summit' poses questions for EU identity
  7. Finnish elections and Hungary's Nato vote in focus This WEEK
  8. EU's new critical raw materials act could be a recipe for conflict

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us