United against Islamist terrorism

“It is high time for the EU to improve its coordination in the fight against terrorism and especially against Islamist terror. We cannot afford to wait for other terrorist attacks to occur and other innocent victims to lose their lives before we act”, said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, during a discussion in a Group meeting with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz today.

“Terror is not an abstract threat. Radical Islamists seek to destroy us, our societies, our way of life. In the past 22 months, 119 terrorist attacks have been carried out, prevented or failed throughout Europe, of which the attacks in Paris, Vienna and Nice are only the most recent examples. Faced with this major threat against the very essence of our societies, we need to act in a united manner. I welcome the initiative taken by Chancellor Kurz and President Macron in this regard”, Manfred Weber said.

“We have to take tough action against Islamist perpetrators and the ideology behind them. Terrorists follow propaganda, are recruited and supported by networks and structures which we urgently need to dismantle. The most urgent measures we need to take are the creation of a European database of terrorists, and the quick removal of terrorist propaganda material from the Internet. The Left-wing parties in the European Parliament must give up their resistance to this particular file and come to reason.

"For years, the EPP Group has made the security of European citizens its top priority. We have long been calling for a strengthening of Europol with the resources and skills needed to actively combat terrorism.

“We have long been calling for Frontex and border protection to be strengthened, and for homeland security to become a common European task, because homeland security is not only police work, it is also the fight against fake news, radicalisation and hate speech.

Let us show clearly here and now: France and Austria are not alone! Together, as a united Europe, we are standing up against the Islamist terrorists and all other despisers of democracy."