The European Parliament has called for the creation of an EU “blacklist” of known and suspected jihadist terrorists, as part of an EU clampdown on terrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks.
MEPs meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday backed a non-binding resolution on measures to prevent radicalisation, including the proposal that so-called ‘foreign fighters’ be placed in “administrative detention” upon their return to Europe while they are awaiting judicial prosecution. In addition, the resolution proposes that radicalised inmates in prison should be segregated from other inmates “to avoid prisons serving as a breeding ground for the spread of radical and violent extremism”.
The resolution was adopted by 548 votes to 110, with 36 abstentions. But concerns were raised by human rights groups and refugee representative groups, with the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) warning that some of the measures could lead to racial profiling.
While welcoming proposals to try and combat Islamophobia, the organisation said the proposal to segregate radical prisoners would be difficult to implement without infringing on freedom of religion, as no reliable list of radicalisation indicators exists.
“European citizens and residents have the right to feel safe, but not at the expense of other human rights,” the chair of the ENAR, Sarah Isal, said.
As MEPs gathered for their first plenary session since the Paris terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 130 people, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that the “spirit of Schengen” must be safeguarded as he warned against equating terrorists with refugees and migrants.
In his address to the Parliament, Mr Juncker said that those who perpetrated the attacks of November 13th were the same people who forced people to flee to Europe.
He warned that Europe’s single currency could be in jeopardy if the Schengen passport-free travel zone is dismantled “If the spirit of Schengen leaves our lands and our hearts, we will lose more than Schengen. A single currency makes no sense if Schengen falls. It is one of the keystones of European construction,” he said.
Schengen spirit
The head of the EU’s executive arm conceded that the Schengen system, which guarantees free travel between 26 countries is “partially comatose.” “Those who believe in Europe and its values, in its principles and freedoms must try – and try they will – to reanimate the Schengen spirit.”
Europe’s free travel area has come under pressure in the wake of both the refugee crisis and the terrorist attacks in Paris. A number of EU countries were forced to impose border controls to help stem the flow of refugees entering their country this year. France has also introduced border checks at its border with Belgium in the wake of the November 13th attacks in Paris.
Mr Juncker’s comments were made as French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned that Europe cannot accept more refugees, potentially putting France at odds with Germany and the European Commission who have been pushing for a long-term relocation programme for refugees.
French MEP Marine Le Pen called for national borders to be re-established inside Europe. She said that terrorists were entering the European Union alongside migrants. “It is a reality, and you cannot simply brush it to one side. You can’t have uncontrolled migration flows into the EU.”
She continued: “We need to return to our national borders because we simply don’t have confidence in Europe’s borders.” Ms Le Pen also criticised the EU’s austerity policy which she said had led to “fewer soldiers, fewer policemen” on the streets of France. “We’ve had enough of your austerity polices. You decided on the budgetary policies – budgetary sovereignty should be reinstated.”
Information sharing
German MEP Elmar Blok said that this was “not a fight against Islam” noting that refugees cannot be tarred with the same brush as terrorists. He also denounced criticisms of Schengen.
“It’s not a question of blaming Schengen – we have to force our intelligence agencies and secret service agencies to cooperate,” noting that only five member states fulfil their contractual obligation to provide Europol with all requested information.
Green MEP Jan-Philipp Albrecht said the Passenger Name Record directive currently being adopted by the European Union was not the answer to the terrorist threat, describing it as “an extraordinary expensive model of 28 silos full of completely irrelevant information on innocent travellers. We already know who is on which plane in Europe . . . we need targeted and joint information sharing.”
