BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2020) French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called for strengthening the response to the threat of terrorism during a video conference with presidents of the European Commission and Council, as well as leaders of Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
Macron discussed the issue In the wake of several high-profile Islamist attacks in France as well as the shooting spree in Vienna with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as well as European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a video conference.
Before the video conference, Macron received Kurz at the Elysee Palace and called on the Austrian chancellor to launch a pact against terrorism. The French president did not specify if there was a link between knife attacks in France, committed by recently arrived Muslim migrants, and the shooting incident in Vienna, where an Austrian citizen of an Albanian origin was a perpetrator of the crime.
Macron has announced the doubling of the border police force due to domestic pressure related to the fact that a young Tunisian migrant, who killed three people at a church in Nice in late October, arrived in France from Italy just days before the knife attack.
The French president made the announcement on November 5 during a visit to Le Perthus, a French commune close to the Spanish border. Macron also linked terrorism with illegal immigration for the first time ever. The right-wing political parties have long demanded French authorities to make such a link.
Macron's speech was in direct contradiction with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's statement who told the Europe 1 radio station in early November that he would not make "any connection" between immigration and terrorism.
During the speech in Le Perthus, Macron also urged to reform the Schengen area to ensure security and stressed the need to strengthen control of the external borders of the EU.
"We clearly see terrorist actions that can be carried out by people who use migratory flows to threaten our national soil. So we need to strengthen our controls for reasons of national security ... But before changing the law, it must be fully implemented. This does not mean changing the law, but increasing the means we put into it. I call for a re-founding of Schengen and greater control. I want to be precise so as not to confuse everything. These subjects arouse a lot of passions and this leads to amalgamations," Macron said.
At the same time, the right-wing opposition calls for the implementation of war-time legislation with immediate expulsion of Salafist imams, among others, and closure of mosques that spread the extremist ideology. Meanwhile, Macron has so far refused to do it and only vaguely spoke about fighting "Islamist secession" in a proposed bill, which does not even include the word separatism in it.
"Faced with the terrorist threat, France must STOP the strategy of 'and at the same time' which is defended by president Macron. We say YES to strong acts. The last four terrorist attacks were committed by migrants: let's suspend Schengen to be able again to really control our borders, expel illegals and toughen the criteria for the right to asylum," Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the head of the Debout la France political party, told Sputnik.
WHAT LEAD TO NOVEMBER 10 MINI SUMMIT
Macron asked Michel and von der Leyen to organize a conference with just a limited number of participants which rose a question about the role of other EU countries in the issue of combating terrorism.
Several days before the conference, the French leader announced doubling for the security forces at the borders, from 2,400 to 4,8000, during a visit to the commune near the Spanish border. Spain is indeed one of the main gateways for immigrants arriving in France, particularly from North Africa.
Macron is also convinced that the terrorism threat needs a European-level approach in the wake of the Vienna attack.
Regarding the reform of the Schengen area, Macron has promised to make "first proposals" at the European Council meeting in December, with the "desire to reach decisions in the first half of 2022" under the French presidency of the EU.
The French president hopes that Kurz will help him persuade Merkel to increase efforts in combating the threat of terrorism, according to a French author and political scientist, Nikola Mirkovic.
"This joint pact proposal by Macron and Kurz is surprising at first, but actually both want to show their toughness to their conservative electorate. France turning to Austria, a small European country, Austria, to launch this fight, mainly because Macron who initiated the conversations with Kurz is looking for an ally in persuading Angela Merkel to get out of the trenches and adopt a clear attitude towards Islamism," Mirkovic told Sputnik.
Macron also believes that Michel and von der Layen, in addition to Kurz, will help him to convince Merkel to step up efforts at a European level, according to Mirkovic.
"It is also a communication stunt from the French president to give the illusion that he is doing something beyond big statements, such as his explanations at the Spanish border last week about a possible link between illegal immigration and terrorism ... Macron really needs to regain popularity, after the exasperation of the French at the lockdown and curfew imposed on them," the expert said.
EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL ABOUT IMAMS
On Monday, Michel voiced support for creating an EU institute to train imams. At the same time, the EU official did not say anything about the selection of imams.
"As a European response to terrorism, the European Union must quickly equip itself with a body responsible for overseeing the training of imams and ensuring that their messages do not contribute to spreading an ideology of hatred ... Online messages glorifying terrorism must be swiftly removed. There must be no impunity for terrorists and those who praise them on the Internet," Michel said in Vienna during a joint press conference with Kurz.
In response, the Austrian chancellor once again called for joining forces in the fight against terrorism and addressing the issue of foreign extremists in Europe.
All participants, namely Macron, Kurz, Rutte, Merkel, Michel and von der Leyen, have agreed that terrorism is a reality in Europe and the EU member states need to respond to this threat, including extremist propaganda on the internet.
A summit between the EU interior ministers is scheduled to take place on Friday.
During his speech, Macron avoided using the word Islamist but Kurz did not. The French leader called for a joint fight against radicalization and terrorism propaganda, urged for reforming the Schengen zone and protecting the EU external borders.
"We must protect our external borders. For 5 years, we have experienced waves of migration and we have not succeeded in completing this reform [of the Schengen area]. It must also be recognized that there has been a misuse of the right of asylum in Europe. This right was created to protect and welcome those who have taken a risk for democracy in their country, but migrants arrive from countries that are not at war, brought in by illegal smugglers," Macron said.
Meanwhile, Merkel stressed that there is no fight between islam and Christianity.
"This is not a fight between Islam and Christianity, but the defense of our democratic society and the response to these enemies of the European liberal society," Merkel said.
The German chancellor also agreed that the Schengen agreement needs to be reformed in light of the recent terrorist attacks.
In addition, Kurz said that "the Schengen system will not survive" if the EU fails to protect its external borders.
In general, French, Dutch and Austrian leaders called for tough measures, while Merkel tried to defend the traditional approach in countering the threat of terrorism by collaborating with Islamic religious authorities and with Muslim countries, insisting, like von der Leyen, on the 'social dimension' of education of the Muslim youth in the EU member states.
Moreover, von der Leyen called for the strengthening of gun control in the EU and launching an inclusion program for "the youth of deprived areas in Europe."
On December 9, the European Commission will present a new program of action against terrorism, while a so-called Schengen forum will hold its first meeting in late December to finalize a new strategy for the Schengen zone and the fight against terrorism by May next year.
