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Photo: EPA / IAN LANGSDON |
French President Emmanuel Macron it hinted at a possible split in the Schengen area, largely uncontrolled.
“If some countries are not ready to reform these rules, they may have to go in other ways,” Macron said Tuesday after a video session with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Chancellor Austrian Sebastian Kurz and EU leaders on the issue of Islamist extremism, Reuters reports.
The conversation focused on how the EU could respond more decisively to the threat from Islamists following the attacks in Nice and Vienna. In this context, Macron called for the reform of the rules in the Schengen area. EU interior ministers intend to discuss further steps on Friday.
Macron stressed that he wanted to keep internal borders open. However, the precondition for this is that the external borders of the EU are better protected. Other EU officials have also requested it. Last week, Macron announced tighter border controls at France’s border with Italy and Spain, for example.
Merkel, on the other hand, he pointed out that it was not about increasing border controls in the Schengen area.
President of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen announced that the commission will present proposals for Schengen reform in May 2021. The Schengen area, established in 1985, includes EU countries and some non-EU countries such as Norway and Switzerland.
Austrian Chancellor Kurz He also called for more serious action against Islamists in Europe who have been released from prisons. “They are time bombs,” he said, referring to the Austrian-born assassin in Vienna, who is suspected of being radicalized while in prison.
The head of the German Constitutional Protection Service, Thomas Haldenwang it warned Tuesday that security forces were having trouble monitoring some 600 Islamists around the clock, identified as a possible threat in Germany.
Merkel highlighted the need for closer contacts with Islamic countries, as well as the training of imams in EU countries. According to her, this is another way to combat radicalization.
For example German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer met with Islamic associations on Tuesday to negotiate the formation of imams in Germany. The aim is to prevent radical Islamic preachers from abroad from appearing in mosques in Germany.
It is also important to take action against Islamist hatred on the internet, Merkel said. But he did not mention how security agencies could better monitor Islamists’ communications through messaging services. The federal government intends to compel the operators of such services to provide security authorities with access to the suspects’ encrypted communications.
He proposes that this be introduced at the EU level.
“This is a fight between civilization and barbarism,” he said. Dutch Prime Minister Rutte.
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