Activities of Gérard DEPREZ related to 2015/2063(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Prevention of radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organisations (debate) FR
Amendments (68)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
– having regard to Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union and to Articles 4, 16, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 75, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the Revised EU Strategy for Combating Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terrorism, adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council at its meeting on 19 May 2014 and approved by the Council of the European Union of 5 and 6 June 2014 (doc. 9956/14).
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
- having regard to the JHA Council of 12 and 13 March 2015, (At this meeting, the Ministers decided to set up within Europol a European unit tasked with flagging content on the internet).
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to the additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and the Council of Europe’s action plan on the fight against violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism adopted on 19 May 2015.
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2015 on anti-terrorism measures
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen and Tunis in early 2015 , Sousse and Isère highlight the security threat which is posed by the presence and movement of these foreign fighters in Europe; whereas the European Union has condemned these attacks in the strongest terms and has committed itself to combat terrorism alongside the Member States;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas terrorist radicalisation within the Union must not be perceived as being systemically linked to religious considerations;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas combating terrorism and preventing the radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organisations still falls essentially within the sphere of competence of the Member States, but whereas a concerted European approach is necessary to harmoniseand represents real added value, particularly with a view to coordinating the policies of the Member States on this matter, reinforcing the exchange of information, identifying good practices, developing new ideas and harmonising the legislation that applies in an area where European citizens are free to move;.
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas a number of instruments already exist in Europe to address the radicalisation of European citizens and whereas the European Union and its Member States should show they are making full use of these; whereas, given the increasing significance of terrorist radicalisation, which is in total contradiction with European values, new means must be implemented, and this must take place in compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas a number of instruments already exist in Europe to address the terrorist radicalisation of European citizens and whereas the European Union and its Member States should show they are making full use of these;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the extent to which the state assumes responsibility for the risk of terrorist radicalisation can vary greatly from one Member State to another; whereas, while some Member States have already taken effective measures, others are lagging behind in their action to tackle this phenomenon;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas European action is required as a matter of urgency to prevent the terrorist radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens in order to contain this growing phenomenon so as to stem the flow of departures by European citizens to conflict zones and prevent other terrorist acts from being committed on European soilwithin or beyond the EU territory;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. Whereas the rise of terrorism and foreign fighters has increased the intolerance towards ethnic and religious communities in several countries in Europe; considering that a holistic approach to fight against discrimination, in general, and islamophobia and anti- Semitism, in particular, are complementary when working for specific prevention of terrorism extremism.
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas terrorist radicalisation appears to be attributable to factors that are both internal and external to the Union.
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas combating terrorist radicalisation must form part of a global approach that aims to ensure an open Europe and is based on a set of common values;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
Hd. whereas the causes of terrorist radicalisation have not been studied to a sufficient extent; whereas the lack of integration cannot be perceived as the primary cause of terrorist radicalisation;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to establish as quickly as possible a global strategy to prevent the radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens, taking into account all vectors of radicalisationn action plan to implement the EU strategy for combating radicalisation and recruitment to terrorism, on the basis of the exchange of best practice within the European Union and the evaluation of measures undertaken in the Member States; takes the view that the Commission should develop an intensive communication strategy on preventing the radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organisations; (The EU strategy for combating radicalisation and recruitment to terrorism was adopted by the Council of the European Union in 2005 and revised in 2008 and 2014)
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls upon the Member States to strengthen action aimed at preventing radicalisation and the recruitment of terrorists by updating national prevention policies and putting networks of practitioners in place on the basis of the ten priority areas for action as identified in the EU strategy for combating radicalisation and recruitment to terrorism (doc. 9956/14).
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on the Member States to coordinate their strategies and share the information and experience at their disposal, to implement goods practices, at both a national and a European level, and to cooperate with a view to taking new steps in combating radicalisation and recruitment to terrorism.
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. calls on the Commission to establish a common definition of ‘foreign fighters’ and to carry out an in-depth study of the process and the various influences which lead to radicalisation;Believes that the additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism is the reference document that should be used by the Member States and the European institutions with a view to arriving at a common definition for the criminalisation of persons to be considered ‘foreign fighters’. Calls on the Commission to carry out an in-depth study of the process and the various influences which lead to radicalisation; (The additional protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism defines five acts that it asks the Member States to establish as criminal offences with a view to responding to the threat posed by persons travelling abroad for the purpose of committing, contributing to or participating in terrorist offences, or the providing or receiving of training for terrorism in the territory of another State;)
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. cCalls on the Commission to establish a common definition of ‘foreign fighters’ and to carry out an in-depth study of the causes, the process and the various influences which lead to radicalisation;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of making the fullest use of existing instruments to combat the radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organisations; recommends that more use should be made of European funds to that end; stresses the major role which can be played by the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) in taking on this objective of stamping out the radicalisation of European citizens;the Commission and the Member States make use of available means, particularly under the Internal Security Fund (ISF), via the SIF Police instrument, in order to support projects and measures aimed at preventing radicalisation; stresses the major role which can be played by the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) in taking on this objective of stamping out the radicalisation of European citizens; (The SIF Police instrument has a budget of just over EUR 1 billion for the period 2014-2020, EUR 662 million of which is channelled through shared management, EUR 342 million of which is channelled through direct management.)
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that prisons remain a breeding ground for the spread of radical ideologieterrorist extremisms; calls on the Commission to encourage the exchange of best practices among the Member States in order to counter the increase of terrorist radicalisation in Europe's prisons;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to suggest and make publishc guidelines on measures to be implemented in Europe's prisons aimed at preventing Europeans from becoming radicalised terrorists; recommends that the Member States segregate radicalised inmates within their prisons in order to prevenparate prisoners who have been already recruited by terrorist organisations from all the rest, aiming to prevent terrorist radicalism from being imposed through intimidation on other inmates and to contain extremist radicalisation in those institutions;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Supports the establishment of specialised European training for prison staff in order to teach them to detect radical behaviour; stresses the importance of appropriately training and recruiting prison chaplains so that they can not only adequately meet prisoners' cultural needs in prisons, but also counter radical discourseto the entire prison staff, religious staff and NGO's personnel who interact with prisoners in order to teach them to detect, prevent and deal with behaviours which tend to terrorist extremism.;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Supports the establishment of specialised European training for prison staff in order to teach them to detect radical behaviour, and to also detect it at an early stage; stresses the importance of appropriately training and recruiting prison chaplainreligious, philosophical and secular representatives so that they can not only adequately meet prisoners’ cultural needs in prisons, but also counter radical discourse;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Encourages the establishment of educational programmes in Europe's prisons in order to promote critical thinking and reintegration into society to inmates vulnerable to pressure from radicals in prison;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading III
Subheading III
III. Preventing online terrorist radicalisation
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that the internet plays a significant role in fuelling the radicalisation of European citizens, as it facilitates the rapid, large-scale distribution of hate messages and praise for terrorism; expresses concern at the impact that such messages praising terrorism have on young people, who are particularly vulnerable; calls for a dialogue to be launchedction to be taken at European level with the internet giantoperators with a view to preventing the online distribution of hate messages and to eradicatdetecting and erasing them swiftly;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that the iInternet plays a significant role in fuelling theserves as well as a platform for terrorist radicalisation of European citizens, as it facilitates the rapid, large-scale distribution of hate messages and praise for terrorism; expresses concern at the impact that such messages praising terrorism have on young people, who are particularly vulnerable; calls for a dialogue to be launched at European level with the internet giants with a view to preventanalysing the online distribution of hate messages and to eradicating them swiftly;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Feels that the internet giantoperators should be made aware of their responsibilities so that they delete illegal content as quickly as possible; believes that the Member States should plan for the possibility of bringing criminal prosecutions against digital actors who do not take action in response to the spread of illicit messages or messages praising terrorism on their internet platforms; believes that refusal or failure to cooperate on the part of internet platforms which allow such messages to circulate should be considered an act of complicity with praising terrorism and should consequently be punished;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Feels that the internet giants should be made aware of their responsibilities so that they delete illegal content as quickly as possible; believes that the Member States should plan for the possibility of bringing criminal prosecutions against digital actors who do not take action in response to the spread of illicit messagesto take measures to closely cooperate with Internet servers/providers and to act against companies not reacting when having acknowledgement of the distribution orf messages praising terrorism on their internet platforms; believes that refusal or failure to cooperate on the part of internet platforms which allow such messages to circulate should be considered an act of complicity with praising terrorism and should consequently be punishedremain online should be sanctioned if the agreed previous measures to withdraw this messages are not put in action;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the competent authorities to ensure that websites that incite hatred are monitored more strictly;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Feels, however, that the internet is an effective platform for spreading discourse opposed to hate speech and praise for terrorism; calls on the digital giantoperators to cooperate with the Member States and European agencies and bodies in order to take part in the spread of prevention messages calling for the development of critical thinking and for a process of deradicalisation;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Feels, however, that the internet is an effective platform for spreading discourse opposed to hate speech and praise for terrorism; calls on the digital giants to cooperate with the Member States and with organisations whose fields of expertise are terrorist deradicalisation or evaluation of hate speeches in order to take part in the spread of prevention messages calling for the development of critical thinking and for a process of deradicalisation;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. States that the internet giants, through internet referencing, have the power to promote terrorist radicalisation prevention messages aimed at countering messages that praise terrorism; feels that it is thus their duty to highlight messages that oppose hate speech and praise for terrorism, thereby making online radicalisation more difficulthate speech and praise for terrorism;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. States that the internet giantoperators, through internet referencing, have the power to promote radicalisation prevention messages aimed at countering messages that praise terrorism; feels that it is thus their duty to highlight messages that oppose hate speech and praise for terrorism, thereby making online radicalisation more difficult;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Feels that every Member State should set up a special unit tasked with flagging illicit content on the internet and with facilitating the detection and removal of content that does not conform to the host internet platform's charter and rules; proposes that such units couldwelcomes the decision by the Council of Ministers of 12 and 13 March to create within Europol a European unit (EU IRU), tasked with flagging content on the internet, and encourages national bodies responsible for flagging and actors in the digital world to cooperate closely with a European uol for this purpose. (The terms of reference of the Unit aresponsible for dealing with flagging; set out in a note adopted by the Council of Ministers on 12 March 2015 (Doc 6606/15) They are: to coordinate the identification of terrorist and extremist content circulating on the Internet, in cooperation with the appropriate partners; support and deliver rapid and effective flagging, in close collaboration with the internet industry; support the work of the competent national authorities by providing them with strategic and operational analyses; act as a European centre of excellence for the activities set out above.
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Welcomes the establishment with effect from 1 January 2016 of the European Counter-Terrorism Centre (ECTC), of which the European unit tasked with flagging content will be a part. Stresses the need to provide the financial resources required to deliver the additional tasks conferred on Europol in connection with the establishment of the European Counter-Terrorism Centre. Calls for the European Parliament to be duly involved in the composition of the Centre, its terms of reference, tasks and finance.
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Believes that online radicalisation cannot be stamped out without reinforcing the tools available to the EU to combat cybercrime; recommends that that the European Union strengthen the mandate of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) particularly by facilitating exchanges between Europol and private sector bodies so that it can play an effective role in better protecting European citizens against online threats and detecting the digital processes used by terrorist organisations; (Given the role played by the internet in radicalisation and as over 80% of ICT infrastructure belongs to the private sector, it would appear essential that Europol and the European Cybercrime Centre should be able to exchange information with the internet giants in order to be able to successfully deliver on their responsibilities.
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses that schools and education have an important role to play in preventing radicalisation; recalls the crucial role that schools play in helping to promote integration and develop critical thinking; calls on the Member States to investigate the possibility of introducing, where it does not already exist, education on religious issues inaimed at strengthening understanding and tolerance of different religions, philosophies and ideologies; stresses the need to teach fundamental values and principles suchools; as human rights;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the European Union to carry out a communication campaign to raise thencourage an effective awareness of young peoplesters, as well as supervisory staff, as regards issues of radicalisation; calls on the Member States to introduce specialist training for teaching staff so that they can detect any suspicious changes in behaviour and properly supervise young people who are at risk of being recruited by terrorist organisations; reminds that educational actors, religious leaders, social workers and all the other professionals who work in the field of education, should be trained according to merit and availability criteria and should not be considered surveillance special agents; reminds that an excessive intromission by public powers could be counterproductive;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that it is vital to engage in dialogue with the various religious communitiesintercultural dialogue in order to help reach a better understanding of the phenomenon of radicalisation; draws the Member States’ attention to the issue of training religious leaders in order to prevent preachers of hate from appearing in places of worship in Europe, and also of training prison chaplains, and to ensure that they share European values, and also of training the representatives of religions, philosophies and secular society working in prisons particularly when they are around prisoners deemed to be radicalised;
Amendment 417 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Highlights the crucial importance of making all actors aware of their responsibility to prevent radicalisation, whether at local, national, European or international level; encourages the establishment of close cooperation between all civil society actors, including national and local platforms for cooperation between actors on the ground, such as associations, NGOs and families of victims; calls, in this regard, for the introduction of training adapted for the actors on the ground dealing with potentially radicalised European citizens;
Amendment 418 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls for the EU to include the issue of terrorist radicalisation in the training provided by CEPOL
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Feels that those local actors have a crucial role to play in the development of projects adapted to their towns or organisations, in addition to their role as an integrating factor for those European citizens who feel at odds with society and tempted by terrorist radicalisation; feels that the Member States should support the establishment of structures facilitating, in particular, the supervision of young people, as well as exchanges with families, schools, hospitals, universities and so on; reminds that these measures can only be implemented through long- term social investment programmes; notes that such associations and organisations, which do not bear the mark of governments, sometimes achieve better results in reintegrating citizens who are on the path towards radicalisation into society;
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Considers it vital to set up an alert system in each Member State which would allow families and community members to easily and swiftly flag the development of radical behaviour or a European citizen's departure to join a terroristhat in every Member State there is a transmission of practical advice which allow families and community members to easily warn the recruitment of their relatives by terrorist networks and organisations;
Amendment 447 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Highlights the importance of including the testimony of victims of islamist terrorism in public communication policies, as it would counter the impact of recruitment propaganda spread by terrorist organisations via the Internet.
Amendment 463 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Reiterates its desire to see the so-called ‘'EU PNR' directive swiftly adopted before the end of 2015 in order to enable the movements of European citizens likely to adopt a terrorist ideology to be trackedadopted in full compliance with fundamental rights and freedoms of European citizens and free from discriminatory practices or any ideological, religious or ethnic stigmatization; recalls, however, that the EU PNR will not be enough to prevent the recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organiszations;
Amendment 467 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Reiterates its desire to see the so-called ‘EU PNR’ directive swiftly adopted before the end of 2015 in order to enable the movements of European citizens likely to adopt a terrorist ideologysuspected of serious terrorist or transnational offences to be tracked; recalls, however, that the EU PNR will not be enough to prevent the recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organisations;
Amendment 478 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Insists on the absolute necessity of stepping up the exchange of information between the law enforcement authorities inof the Member States, in particular by optimising the use of and contributions to the Schengen Information System and Europol's 'Focal Point Travellers' on European citizens who have been radicalised; stresses that stepping up the exchange of information between law enforcement authorities will also entail reinforcing the role of European Union agencies, such as Europol and Eurojust; ('Focal Point Travellers' is a file for the collection and analysis of information on foreign terrorist fighters and related terrorist networks. Set up in May 2014 by EUROPOL's counter-terrorism unit, it collects information from all Member States and holds over 6,000 names of individuals associated with terrorism (facilitators, recruiters, funders, those likely to leave, fighters etc.))
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Insists on the absolute necessity of stepping up the efficient exchange of information between the law enforcement authorities in the Member States; stresses that stepping up the efficient exchange of information between law enforcement authorities will also entail reinforcing the rolea constant increase in quality of European Union agencies, such as Europol and Eurojust;
Amendment 489 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses that improved cooperation between the Member States aimed at countering the radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens is also characterised by intensive exchanges between the judicial authorities; Notes that better reporting at European level on the criminal records of European citizens at risk of being radicalised would help speed up their detection and make it easier for them to be properly monitored, either when they leave or when they return; encourages, therefore, the reform of the ECRIS system; calls for full use of Eurojust in this respect;
Amendment 493 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading VI
Subheading VI
VI. Strengthening deterrents against terrorist radicalisation
Amendment 507 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Believes that criminalising terrorist acts carried out by foreign fighters requiresHence invites the European Union to work on the set-up of judicial cooperation agreements with third countries to facilitate the collection of evidence in thirsaid countries to be possible; calls, therefore, on the European Union to work on establishing judicial cooperation agreements with third countries in order to facilitate such processeas long as the Fundamental Rights, especially those regarding effective due process, are ensured by all parts;
Amendment 516 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Asks of the Commission an analysis of the interpretative framing displayed by terrorist organizations such as Daesh so as to develop a strategic communication policy aimed at countering any attempt to establish a public accounting presenting the use of violence as something completely legitimate;
Amendment 518 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Asks for the promotion of style manuals by public media aimed at reflecting and avoiding the acceptance of the interpretative framing and keywords used by terrorist organizations in their aim of public manipulation;
Amendment 521 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading VII
Subheading VII
VII. Preventing the departure and anticipating the return of radicalised European citizens recruited by terrorist organizations
Amendment 537 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Reiterates its belief that the European Union must step up its external border controls as a matter of urgency; stresses that it will be impossible to effectively track the departures or arrivals of European citizens unless mandatory andrecruited by terrorist organisations unless systematic controls are introduced on the European Union’s external borders; stateInsists that, to this end, one of the European Union’s priorities must be reforming the Schengen Code; the Member States should implement the Commission's recommendations for a more flexible interpretation of the Schengen Code, so that external border controls for citizens of the Union no longer consist only of 'a minimal level of checks' but normally involve the consultation of national and European databases.
Amendment 542 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Invites Member States to give their border guards systematic access to the Europol information system which may contain information on people suspected of terrorism, foreign fighters and preachers of hate.
Amendment 549 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on Member States to share good practices in regard to exit checks on radicalised EU citizens and foreigners living in the EU recruited by terrorist organizations, and how to manage the return of citizens who have taken part in terrorist activities in conflict theatres abroad; supports in particular Member States confiscat; stresses that any action resulting in the seizure of passports must be undertaken in full compliance with the law and with no governmental interference when dealing withe passports of EU citizens planning to join terrorist organistheir own nationals;
Amendment 552 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on Member States to share good practices in regard to exit checks on radicalised EU citizens and how to manage the return of citizens who have taken part in terrorist activities in conflict theatres abroad; supports in particular Member States confiscating the passports of EU citizens planning to join terrorist organisations; also supports the implementation of criminal sanctions for foreign fighters on their return to Europe;
Amendment 559 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Reiterates that making good use of existing instruments such as the SIS and VIS systems constitutes the first step in stepping up external border security in order to identify EU citizens who may be leaving for conflict zonesand foreigners living in the EU who may be leaving to engage in terrorist actions, terrorist training or to take part in any unconventional armed conflict as part of a terrorist organization;
Amendment 565 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Invites the Member States to ensure effective monitoring , particularly psychological, of foreign fighters on their return to Europe;
Amendment 573 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Stresses once more the vital importance of the European Union establishing close cooperation with non-EU countries, notably transit countries and those to which foreign fighters are headingand destination countries, insofar as this is possible, in order to be able to identify EU citizens leaving to fight for terrorist organisations or returning thereafter;
Amendment 581 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Is convinced that for such enhanced cooperation to be established the Commission, and the European External Action Service (EEAS) in particular, need to make greater linguistic efforts in terms of Arabic- speaking staff and spokespersons so as to be understood by every community beyond the EU's borders, specially by Arabic communities; considers it essential that the EUʼs call to combat radicalisation can be heard beyond its own borders;
Amendment 594 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Welcomes the Commission's allocation in April 2015 of a budget of 10 million euro to finance a programme of assistance to partner countries to counter radicalisation in the Sahel-Maghreb and stem the flow of foreign fighters from North Africa, the Middle East and the Western Balkans. (A first tranche of 5 million euro to fund technical assistance to enhance the capacities of criminal justice officials to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate cases of foreign fighters or would-be foreign fighters. A second tranche of 5 million euro to finance countering radicalisation programmes in the Sahel and Maghreb region.)
Amendment 629 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Supports the development of a communication campaign at EU level based on the experiences of ʽformer foreign fightersʼ whose eye-witness accounts and traumatic experiences help strip away the religious significance of fighting for terrorist organisations such as ISIS; encourages Member States therefore to develop such structures enabling face-to- face meetings and dialogue with former fighters; emphasises furthermore that contact with victims of terrorism also seems to be an effective means of stripping radical rhetoric of its religious significance; calls on the Commission to support, particularly through funding, and to coordinate national communication campaigns;