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After the recent attacks, EU leaders discussed how to combat terrorism. Chancellor Merkel said it was about protecting the borders. French President Macron again called for a reform of the Schengen area.
Germany, France and Austria want to take more decisive action against Islamist terrorism. Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a video conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and other EU representatives, the main thing was to “protect the external borders” of the European Union. Citizens of the Schengen area, however, “do not have to adapt to further controls.”
Merkel emphasized that even without controls there are very good police opportunities to act in the border area, for example with the persecution of the veil. It cannot be that the entire Schengen area is a control-free area. There have been control regulations between Germany and Austria for some time, and such regulations could also be temporarily introduced.
Macron: protect external borders, keep internal borders open
“We have to protect external borders so that we can keep internal borders open,” Macron said in the video conference, which was also attended by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. . Macron spoke of an “abuse” of the European asylum law, with which people in danger gained access to the EU. “It is not a question of restricting or eliminating the right to asylum, it must be applied correctly.”
At the same time, the French head of state reiterated his call for a “reorganization of the Schengen area.” “We cannot keep our borders open if we do not fundamentally reform the Schengen rules,” he said. EU interior ministers want to discuss further steps on Friday.
The EU Commission is working on a strategy for Schengen reform
The head of the EU Commission, von der Leyen, announced that the EU Commission would present an agenda to combat terrorism on December 9. Much has been done in recent years, but there is still much work to be done. The EU Commission wants to present a strategy to reform the Schengen area in May 2021. A Europe without internal borders is only possible with reliable protection at the external borders, von der Leyen said.
The CDU politician also emphasized that in the fight against Islamist terror it was important to start at the roots. You have to start before radicalization and offer a perspective to people. This is the “best weapon” against extremism. Your agency will submit an action plan for integration at the end of the month.
Austrian Chancellor Kurz expressed concern about jihadists who are in European prisons and who are about to be released. “These are time bombs,” he said. Therefore, their freedom must be restricted.
Fight hate on the internet
Merkel emphasized that it was important to talk to other Islamic countries about fighting radical Islamists. The training of imams in all EU countries is also important to prevent radicalization in mosques. This is also a topic at the German Islam Conference, which was opened today by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.
Merkel and the other top politicians stressed that the fight against hate that spreads through the Internet must be intensified. Negotiations between EU member states and the European Parliament should conclude before the end of this year, stipulating that terrorist content will be quickly removed from the internet. Furthermore, the EU Commission wants to propose a legislative package in early December that will make internet platforms more responsible for illegal or harmful content, von der Leyen said. The following applies: the bigger the platform, the more responsibility.
After the bloody attacks in Paris, Nice, Vienna and Dresden, the talks should work on a joint initiative against Islamist terrorism. Merkel spoke of attacks “on our free society, the way we live.”
