During the plenary session (11 - 13 November 2020) of the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs debate the fighting of Terrorism and the right to freedom of expression and education. Opening statement by Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs

Brussels

statement

debate

plenary session

fight against terrorism (T)

JOHANSSON, Ylva (SE, EC)

Fighting Terrorism and the right to freedom of expression and education: Opening statement by Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs

SOUNDBITE (Original), Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, EP Vice-President Which means that we can move immediately on to the next item of our agenda. With statements from council and the Commission on Fighting Terrorism and the Rights to freedom of expression and freedom of education.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, EP Vice-President I would just recall, dear colleagues, that we will have a round of speakers from the different political groups and we won't have the normal catch the eye procedure or the normal blue card procedure. And I would also recall that there may be remote comments made from the EPLO offices in the member states.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, EP Vice-President And so to start our debate, I would like to welcome and pass the floor to Commissioner Ylva Johansson, who has the floor.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Thank you, President, honourable members of the parliament. I think we are all still in shock because of the recent terrorist attacks. In Austria, in France, my thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends. My thoughts are with the French and Austrian people, and I know yours are as well.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Let's be clear, these were attacks on our European values, on fundamental rights and freedoms, some empathy toward history, geography and civics, his brutal murder was a direct attack on our values, rights and freedoms, the freedom of expression and information, the right to education, the freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs We need to unite and show strong solidarity as a union, no member state can or should face this threat alone. We need to unite as a society, we need to show that our values are unbreakable and that we cannot be divided on this and we need to do more to protect our citizens, our societies and our values.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs The Vienna attack shows the need to stop illegal firearms. Member states must urgently implement the firearms directive. Before the summer, we launched an action plan against firearms trafficking. We are working closely with Western Balkans partners to fight smuggling of illegal guns.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs And we need to register all known foreign terrorist fighters in the Schengen information system so we can detect them when they try to cross EU borders. The Vienna attacker tried to buy ammunition in Slovakia.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs There were contacts in Germany and Switzerland. We need to better share information. And to share better information across borders. Schengen information system is central here. But so is also passenger name record are essential to deter and detect terrorist suspects. Member states should implement the directive.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs I am planning to update the so-called Prüm decision to make it easier for law enforcement to exchange DNA, fingerprints and numberplates in future, possibly also photos and police records. I want us together in the European Union to move away from ad hoc police cooperation towards systematic police partnership.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs The commission has started work on an EU police cooperation code. Better information sharing also means making sure that its systems can talk to each other, member states need to work hard to achieve full interoperability by 2023. Europol is the backbone of European police cooperation, and Europol is providing concrete and invaluable support to the friends and Austrian authorities as we speak.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Already this year, I will propose the reinforced Europass mandate so it can do an even better job at fighting crime and terror. The recent attackers struck in a church in this in the streets and cafes of Yena, the commission is supporting member states to increase the protection of public spaces.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Small actions can make a difference sometimes between life and death. Last year, a far right terrorist attacked a synagogue in Harlem in Germany, a reinforced door, and the security cameras helped to save thousands of lives. The commission made 12 million euros available to improve security in places of worship.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs I'm looking into possibilities to increase this amount. Some wild parties murdered used the Internet to identify his horrible crime, afterwards posted pictures of his victim online. The Vienna attacker posted a picture with an AK 47.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs In one month in July this year, Europol Internet referral unit took down 2000 links to terrorist content, including tutorials on how to carry out an attack. Europol will continue to work with platforms who want to help, but voluntary cooperation is not enough. Member states need to be able to order the removal of terrorist content from any hosting service provider, irrespective of its place of establishment, with EU wide effects in one hour.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs I call on this house, this parliament, for an agreement on the proposed regulation to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online as soon as possible. Besides policing police intervention, European Union also invest in the prevention of radicalisation prevention is better than cure.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs It's difficult to measure terrorist attacks that are prevented. But our police forces, with the help of Europol, work hard every day to go to do justice. The Radicalisation Awareness Network connects teachers, social workers and community police officers when they successfully lead someone away from violence.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs They are seldom big headlines, but the results are spectacular. There are four main neo-Nazis form of violent Islamists who now reject violence and help others to do the same without the Radicalisation Awareness Network and their job there. These people should perhaps still be a danger to society.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs In a few weeks on the 9th of December, I would present our new counterterrorism agenda. The objective would be to identify and close security gaps in law enforcement cooperation in the use of technology and information sharing to prevent radicalisation, to protect public spaces, and to work with member states, regions, cities and towns, and also with key third country partners.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs But we also need to look beyond counter-terrorism terrorists seeks to divide us between them and us, we can only counter this, but offering inclusive, cohesive society in which everyone has a stake, where there is no them and us. Later this month, I will launch an action plan on integration and inclusion based on opportunities and obligations.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Everyone who has a legal right to be in Europe should have the opportunity to take part in society, a society where everyone is protected by European values of fundamental rights and where everyone must respect. Those same values and rights that includes the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression, fundamental rights the EU will defend, that includes also the freedom of religion.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs But we will never accept violence in the name of religion, education, culture and sport also have a key role to play in this. Mr. President, today is Armistice Day, Europe commemorates the end of the First World War one hundred and two years ago, a war that started with a violent attack, the assassination of Archiduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs New attacks have such cataclysmic consequences. But this is what we mean by terrorist offence, international acts, which, given the nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an international organisation. This reminds us that our struggle is not a new one, when I grew up, that was the RAF, the Red Brigades, the IRA, the ETA.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs The terrorists change, their causes change and their methods change. What doesn't change is the fear that death and the suffering that they bring. What we must do is to be united as a union and as a society and to do everything we can to oppose them, to fight them, to defeat them.