Over the past year and a half, Europe has been experiencing a growing threat of both radicalization and terrorism. Combined with the migration crisis, this threat has been growing to virtually existential dimensions for the European Union, which is scrambling to come up with ways to defend the safety of its citizens and tighten security at Europe’s borders.
The attacks in Paris, twice in the course of 2015, and broader terror alerts inevitably open a debate over the use of intelligence at the European level, beyond the ineffective efforts of individual EU member states. It is urgently needed to re-examine the effectiveness of European counter-terrorism agencies and policies, the integration of Muslim populations and de-radicalization programs.
In addition to France and Belgium, another EU country at the direct end of terror threats is Germany. It was warned of a possible terror plot on January 1st, 2016 during the city’s New Year’s Eve festivities. In Munich, the train stations were evacuated by the police department, which urged the public to avoid large crowds, public transportation and to remain inside their homes over possible ISIS suicide threats. Some five hundred and fifty emergency personnel were spread out in strategic places to safeguard the streets. The Munich Police Department had received information passed from an unidentified foreign intelligence agency, which claimed that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria was preparing the terror threats.
During the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Brussels, Belgium police detained six people during house searches in Brussels on Thursday in an investigation into the supposed plot to carry out a suicide attack on the city. Earlier that same week, two other people were arrested on suspicion of preparing attacks on iconic sites in the Belgium capital.
It is evident, from the foregoing discussion, that Europe is now being affected by an influx of immigrants from Syria and, to a certain extent, North Africa, which has now put the Schengen Agreement under threat as a result of a number of cases involving terrorists disguising as Syrian refugees. The Agreement came into effect in 1995 and phased out the practice of border checks among its members and allowed European and non-European citizens to cross them freely, with one consolidated visa for non-Europeans. The European continent’s passport-free zone is now being re-examined and border controls have been reinstated, pushing the Schengen emergency provisions to their limits. To clinch this point of view, a number of European countries, namely France, have already called for a full review of the Schengen Agreement. Other European countries should do the same.
Trying to save the European Project, the EU institutions have decided to respond by accelerating the implementation of certain agreed-upon measures. The following four areas of agreed action are: ensuring the security of citizens, preventing radicalization, safeguarding values, and cooperating with international partners. A holistic counter-terrorism strategy has been developed, with measures such as combating terrorist financing and preventing access to explosives and to biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear materials. To implement this, a continued collective EU-level action by its member states is necessary.
France has recently decided to launch military attacks on ISIS, urging the United Kingdom to support its decision by doing the same. Italy’s government has decided to raise funds to combat terrorism deport individuals who are suspected of being a threat to Italy’s national security. Hopefully all this does not mark the end of Europe’s open borders, but is instead a temporary response to an acute threat.
