Radicalization leading to

violent extremism in the E.U.

 General background

 Recent terrorist attacks in Europe underline the importance of fighting

against violent extremism (European Agenda on Security, 2015).
 Local actors are best suited to prevent and detect radicalization, both on
short-term and long-term.
 E.U. provides support; prevention set as one of the 4 pillars of counter-
terrorism strategy in 2005.
 Commission Communications were adopted throughout the last decade
to further support Member States’ national policies.
 Violent radicalization, a complex
phenomenon
 The E.U. deals with different types of terrorism, mainly based on
extreme political ideologies.
 However, radicalization today is more complex and has different causes.
 Social media provides connectivity.
 How does the E.U. get involved?

 E.U. research brings useful comparative results on radicalization and its

complex social context in its Member States.
 Several projects on radicalization were launched under the FP7 (Seventh
Framework Programme).
 Research topics on radicalization in 2016 were included in the Horizon
2020 programme.
 RAN Center of Excellence – European hub and platform that exchanges
experiences, knowledge, and best practices to tackle radicalization.
 Terrorist propaganda and hate speech
online
 Internet provides more opportunities to interact
with people who would otherwise be unreachable.
 Some terrorist groups now allocate significant
resources to produce terrorist materials.
 Interaction online fuels the sense of belonging
and common cause.
 How does the E.U. get involved?

 Working with industry and civil society: the E.U. Internet Forum
(December 2015) brings together industry, Member States and civil
society partners
 Commission + Facebook + Twitter + YouTube + Microsoft = Code of
Conduct to fight against illegal hate speech in Europe
 “No Hate Speech Movement” campaign, supported by the Council of
Europe
 Updated legislation (Audiovisual Media Services Directive)
 Support of media literacy
 Radicalization in Prisons

 Prisoner radicalization is conceived as one of several turning points

leading to terrorism
 Islam is the fastest growing religion in Western prisons (e.g. 80% of all
US prison conversions are to Islam)
 Radicalized by other inmates, not by external influences
 Conditions of confinement matter
 Addressing Radicalization in Prisons

 Support provided by European Commission to Member States to prevent

and counter radicalization in prisons
 Trend and progress monitored by Eurojust (judicial cooperation unit)
 EUR 8 million in funds for 2015 and 2016
 Commission is working with the European Confederation for Probation
and the European Organization of Prison and Correctional Services,
under the Justice Programme to create training programmes for prison
staff, judges, prosecutors etc.
 How does the E.U. get involved?
 Uses the Radicalization Awareness Network (RAN) Centre of Excellence to exchange
good practices and formulate policy recommendations on the prevention of
radicalization for first-line practitioners, covering the prison and probation sector
 Tailored support for each Member State (train-the-trainer course; workshops on a specific
topic for a group of Member States; deployment of a RAN advisory team)
 Prevent Strategies
 Provides financial support to Member States for the development of risk assessment
tools
 Supports the development of education and training programmes in prison to ease
detainees’ reintegration into society
 Supports the development of rehabilitation programmes for prisoners by Member
States and the exchange of best practices and policies in the field of the execution of
penal sanctions
 Promotes information sharing at Eurojust by specialized prosecutors
How EU is promoting inclusive education in
order to prevent the radicalization of young
Muslims?
 The social exclusion is nowadays an important factor in radicalization
 The early education can ease the way for the young people to make
informed choices in their lives.
 The EU policy is supporting the promotion of effective policies and best
practices. Also, EU is funding education and training projects – this
initiative helps spreading the EU common values regarding inclusion and
the importance of pointing out that discrimination will eventually lead to
tragedies and in order to build a more tolerant society, we must first
start to educate ourselves.
 The “Declaration on promoting citizenship and the common
values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination
through education”

 The declaration was adopted by the

European Commission in 2015
 The Commissioners and Ministers
responsible for education reaffirmed
their determination to support the
human dignity, equality and respect
of human rights, among others.
 The “Declaration on promoting citizenship and the common
values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination
through education”

 In the battle of overcoming adversity, several civic

values were imposed for the Member States, in the
efforts to promote tolerance and to safeguard
future generations.
 In close cooperation with the parents and families,
the marginalization and racism can be prevented
from happening and the opportunity of “shaping”
the future will therefore be highly valued.
The “Declaration on promoting citizenship and the common
values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination
through education”

 The Commissioners have agreed on the following best practices:

 “Ensuring that children and young people acquire social, civic and
intercultural competences, by promoting democratic values and fundamental
rights, social inclusion and non-discrimination, as well as active citizenship ;
 Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy, particularly in the use of the
Internet and social media, so as to develop resistance to all forms of
discrimination and indoctrination
 Fostering the education of disadvantaged children and young people, by
ensuring that our education and training systems address their needs ;
 Promoting intercultural dialogue through all forms of learning in cooperation
with other relevant policies and stakeholders.”
 Paris Terrorist Attacks from 13th of November
Paris Terrorist Attacks from 13th of November
2015 2015

 On November 13th, 2015, a coordinated terrorist attack in Paris killed 130

people and injured 352 others. The attack was carried out by a commando of
at least 8 Islamic State terrorists. In reaction to those events, many
individuals, governments, and other organizations around the world
expressed their solidarity with France and with the victims.
 The attack happened in a public place in Paris and became the right event to
open a new chapter of terrorism with the mushrooming of various global
news coverage in both the media and the international press.
 EU response to the Paris terrorist attacks

 The EU interior ministers agreed to increase checks on its citizens

travelling abroad, tighten the circulation of illicit arms, and collect
more data on airline passengers, according to their Council conclusions

 They also agreed to revise the Schengen border code to make

systematic checks of people's identity possible at internal borders

 On 2 December, the European Commission adopted a package of

measures to step up the fight against terrorism and the illegal
trafficking of firearms and explosives, including a proposal for a
Directive on Terrorism
 EU fight against terrorism

 The European Union member states are committed to jointly fighting

terrorism and providing for the best possible protection for its citizens.
The strategy is focused on four main pillars: prevent, protect, pursue
and respond. Across these pillars, the strategy recognizes the
importance of cooperation with third countries and international
institutions.

 Prevent - One of the EU priorities in the field of counter-terrorism is

to identify and tackle the factors which contribute to radicalization
and the processes by which individuals are recruited to commit acts
of terror. To this end the Council adopted an EU strategy for
combating radicalization and recruitment to terrorism.
 EU fight against terrorism

 Protect - The second priority of the EU counter-terrorism strategy is the

protection of citizens and infrastructure and the reduction of vulnerability
to attack. This includes the protection of external borders, the
improvement of transport security, the protection of strategic targets and
the reduction of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. In this area, the
EU is currently working on legislation regulating the use of passenger
name record (PNR) data for law enforcement purposes.

 Pursue - The EU is working to hinder terrorists' capacity to plan and

organize, and to bring these terrorists to justice. To achieve these goals,
the EU has focused on strengthening national capabilities, improving
practical cooperation and information exchange between police and
judicial authorities (in particular through Europol and Eurojust), tackling
terrorist financing and depriving terrorists of the means by which they
mount attacks and communicate.
 EU fight against terrorism

 Respond - The fourth objective of the EU counter-terrorism

strategy is to prepare, in the spirit of solidarity, to manage and
minimize the consequences of a terrorist attack. This is done by
improving capabilities to deal with the aftermath, the
coordination of the response, and the needs of victims. Priorities
in this area include the development of EU crisis co-ordination
arrangements, the revision of the civil protection mechanism, the
development of risk assessment or the sharing of best practices
on assistance to victims of terrorism.