EU Leaders Approve A Plan Against Terrorism

Steven Petrov

The Paw Print

A little over a month since the terrible and radical terroristic attacks in Paris took place, the leaders of the European Union reached a mutual agreement that they all have to join efforts in the fight against the terror that has been coming from the Middle East in the recent years. The plan that was approved in Brussels, on Friday February 13^th, focuses on directly impacting the lives of young Muslims in the region as well as throughout Europe, by trying to prevent their radicalization. The meeting of the top level representatives of the European countries, aimed in clearly differentiating between the EU’s support of the freedom of religion in the union and the importance of preventing the radical middle east terroristic organization from recruiting young Muslims and introducing them into the teachings of terror and violence. The French President, François Hollande, however warned that any single measure would need time to be applied in a way that a sustainable change could be observed. The plan for action was developed by the Ministers of Internal affairs during a meeting in January and was approved with a unanimous decision and an absolute support.

The currently approved plan will require some changes and understandings of current laws and norms that govern the 28 member states in the Union. The members of the EU, which are located on the outer boundaries, will be able to impose much more strict control over citizens living under the “Schengen Agreement,” which was against the nature of the agreement itself but will have to be modified in a way that fits the newly developing policies and regulations of the European Union. François Hollande explained that if the 26 countries living under the “Shengen agreement” want to be protected, the outer boundary of the Union is the primary measure of control that must be improved. The French President however, emphasized again the importance of the slow transition that should be made and that the new policies will need time to be successfully incorporated in the EU’s existence and subsequently deliver the needed results. He also mentioned that the European register that will include data about individuals travelling via air transport will be of significant importance in the tracking of suspicious individuals. The above-mentioned software have been approved by the governments of the member states but is still on “hold” from the European parliament, which demands guarantees that this highly important data would be protected.

The European Union will also purchase the needed technology to monitor the text and social networking messages that are being exchanged throughout the Union, trying to block websites that are related to the terroristic propaganda and eliminate EU’s citizen exposure to these activities. The newly modern technology will also allow the leading law enforcement agencies in the “Old Continent” to recognize any potential threats for the security and safety of its citizens and to decipher them quickly enough so that precautious actions could be taken.