The European Parliament rejected by 241 votes for, 332 against and 87 abstentions a report on factors favouring the support for terrorism and recruitment of terrorists. The own-initiative report was drafted by Gérard DEPREZ (EPP-ED, BE). A lack of consensus among the main political groups regarding the best instruments to fight radicalisation led to MEPs rejecting the report as a whole.

The amendments initially adopted before the rejection of the entire report in plenary called on EU Member States to consider amending the definition of terrorist offences and applicable penalties so as to include "the glorification of terrorism" in its scope, "with full respect for freedom of expression". It also mentioned the need to promote dialogue with religious leaders and minorities, on the basis of the UN concept of the alliance of civilizations.

MEPs had also stated in several paragraphs, before the entire report was rejected, that preventive measures must be based upon avoiding social isolation and promoting increased dialogue - with different civilisations, religions, and minorities.

It should be noted that Jaime MAYOR OREJA (EPP-ED, ES), the original rapporteur, had withdrawn his name from the report after its adoption by the Civil Liberties Committee.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the own initiative report by Mr. Gérard DEPREZ (EPP-ED, BE), approving a proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the factors favouring support for terrorism and the recruitment of terrorists.

Although MEPs welcome the Council's adoption of the EU strategy for fighting violent radicalisation and the recruitment of terrorists, as well as the Commission's communication (see COM(2005)0313 ), they express their eagerness to adopt a more proactive approach towards combating radicalisation. They consider that the collective understanding in the EU of radicalisation is limited and must be deepened and, therefore, urge the Commission to stimulate knowledge gathering using input at all governmental and policy levels.

In favour of greater cooperation in this area, MEPs also recommend that the Commission stimulate the identification of best practices by facilitating practical initiatives undertaken by organisations working closely with the groups that are most vulnerable to radicalisation.

At the same time, MEPs pass on the following main recommendations to the Council, in accordance with article 114, paragraph 3 of its internal Rules of Procedure, in order to combat violent radicalisation, improve the social integration of citizens within the European Union and prevent citizens from becoming terrorists:

the fight against terrorism must remain an EU priority; Member States must continue the fight against terrorism in full and scrupulous respect of fundamental rights and freedoms (freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial); action must be taken on Parliament's recommendations on the issue of the CIA flights, the extraordinary renditions and the secret jails in Europe; Member States must strongly promote scientific and academic research on violent radicalisation and allocate the necessary funds for this purpose; terrorist propaganda via the Internet or other media must be prevented (for example by using the control mechanisms of the "audiovisual media services" directive); the fight against terrorism (notably through policies on the basis of the UN concept of the alliance of civilizations) must become one of the key elements of the EU's external policy, including: i) the promotion of human and sustainable development and of good governance, democracy, respect of fundamental rights; ii) the promotion of dialogue with religious political movements, civil society organisations (in particular with the defendants of human rights and religious authorities) in third countries, in order to encourage mutual understanding; preventive measures should be developed further to increase trust and confidence in society and democratic structures and to improve the monitoring of premises (such as education or religious centres) which, diverging from their legitimate purpose, are used to incite violence and disseminate terrorist propaganda; information must be exchanged with Europol, Eurojust and the SitCen (Joint EU Situation Centre responsible for assessing and evaluating international events 24 hours a day, focusing on sensitive areas, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction); judicial and police cooperation in criminal matter at EU level must be reinforced and the adoption of important legislative measures must be promoted, such as the European Evidence Warrant and the Framework decision on procedural guarantees in criminal proceedings; all Member States must be urged to encourage social participation and dialogue as regards the communities representing moderate Islam and support the development of a European strategy for the prevention of radicalisation based on social inclusion, the recognition of fundamental rights, access to citizenship, the fight against all discriminations and the promotion of equal opportunities, especially as regards Muslim communities.

MEPs also consider that EU foreign policy must include the promotion of the diplomatic and peaceful resolution of conflicts around the world, avoiding the use or the perception of the use of double standards. They also consider it necessary to combat racism when fighting against violent radicalisation.

In addition, MEPs call for open discussions on amending Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JAI on the fight against terrorism (see CNS/2001/0217 ) in order to include the justification of terrorism within its scope , in the case that this contributes to violent radicalisation. Moreover, they call for the allocation of Community funds to finance small-scale and/or local initiatives aimed at combating radicalisation.

They also believe that, provided that they respect the law as well as fundamental rights, Member States have the right to forbid the entry into and residence in their territories of any third-country national who actively contributes to promoting violence, deprecating the basic rules of democracy. At the same time, they urge the Commission and the Member States to provide strong and specific support to the victims of terrorism.

It should be noted that the former rapporteur, M. Jaime MAYOR OREJA (EPP-ED, ES) asked for his name to be removed from the report.

The EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator, Gijs de Vries , reported on the implementation of the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy/Action Plan and the EU Strategy on Radicalisation and Recruitment.

Mr de Vries' report assessed progress since December 2005 and the state of play regarding ratification of the conventions and implementation of the legislative acts regarded as having priority.

In particular, he stressed that the search for more effective ways of decision-making is a critical element of the EU effectiveness in the fight against terrorism. The use of instruments such as framework decisions and conventions under the third pillar needs to be reconsidered, as it generally takes too long for the EU to reach decisions. Furthermore, decisions that are reached are not as ambitious as originally foreseen and once agreed, decisions often take years before they are implemented by all Member States.

In December 2005, the European Council adopted the European Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which has provided the framework for EU activity in this field. The strategic commitment of the Union is to combat terrorism globally while respecting human rights, and make Europe safer, allowing its citizens to live in an area of freedom, security and justice. The strategy groups all actions under four headings - PREVENT, PROTECT, PURSUE, RESPOND. The revised Action Plan follows this pattern with the objective of setting out clearly what the EU is trying to achieve and the means by which it intends to do so.