A European summit on terrorism ... and Merkel: What is happening is not a religious conflict. Macron denounces the "abuse of the right to asylum" in Europe ... and Charles Michel stresses the need to remove hate speech from the Internet.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced today, Tuesday, that European countries "need a quick and coordinated response" in the face of the terrorist threat, after a mini-video European summit with many leaders in the European Union, following attacks in France and Austria.
The summit brought together Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who was present at the Elysee Palace with Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel from Berlin, as well as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte from The Hague, European Council President Charles Michel, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from Brussels.
The French president believed that this response should include, in particular, "developing common databases, exchanging information and strengthening punitive policies," as well as "implementing the set of measures" that Europe had previously taken "in a complete and strict manner."
Macron stressed that "terrorism traveling between Paris, Vienna, Berlin and other countries must meet with a European response." He also denounced the "abuse of the right to asylum" in European countries by smugglers, networks and people "arriving from countries that do not witness wars."
Macron said European leaders also spoke of "a tough fight against terrorist propaganda and hate speech on the Internet". "The Internet is a space of freedom, our social networks as well, but this freedom does not exist unless there is security and if it is not a refuge for those who violate our values or seek to indoctrinate murderous ideologies."
The priorities include the need to "complete" the implementation of the "BNR" arrangement, which is the passenger name record. Macron explained that "it is necessary that this arrangement be fully implemented with databases that are quickly linked to each other, because any security defect at external borders or within member states poses a security risk to all member states."
Macron called, during his meeting with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, the need to "re-establish the Schengen space," considering that "any security gap in any country in the European Union poses a threat to other countries."
For his part, Kurz considered that European citizens returning from conflict areas, such as Syria and Iraq, pose "a permanent threat that crosses borders." He talked about "thousands of foreign terrorist fighters who survived the battles in Syria and Iraq ... and returned, or were unable to go ... Many of them are in prison. Some of them have been released and the unfortunate fact is that many of them will be released in the coming years." "They are ticking bombs, and if we want to fully protect our freedom, we must restrict the freedom of these people," he added.
In the European mini-summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that "what is happening is not a conflict between religions or between Islam and Christianity, but rather a war against terrorism," adding: "We must cooperate with Islamic countries to confront terrorism."
Merkel condemned "all forms of hatred against religions," adding: "We are determined to protect our societies against the enemies of freedom." And she stressed "the necessity of a model for a democratic society that combats terrorist and anti-democratic behaviors."
For his part, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that "Europe guarantees freedom of belief and adheres to the primacy of civil law," adding: "The elimination of hate speech from internet platforms must be reached in a short time."
As for the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, she said at the summit: “We encourage programs to strengthen the protection of youth from extremism,” while the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, considered that “what is happening is not a conflict between Europe and Islam, or between Europeans and Muslims.”
