Currently "enormous risk" of terrorist attacks
The deadly Islamist attack on a tourist in France has once again heightened fears of new attacks. Federal Interior Minister Faeser calls the current danger "acute". And there are also warnings from the EU Commission.
Following the fatal knife attack on a German tourist in Paris at the weekend, fears of further Islamist attacks are growing in Europe. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said at the EU interior ministers' meeting in Brussels that the brutal act of violence showed "how acute and how serious the threat of Islamist terrorism currently is in the EU - not only in Germany, but also in all neighboring countries".
EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said she sees an "enormous risk of terrorist attacks" in the upcoming holiday season. She spoke of a "polarization" in society due to the war between Israel and the radical Islamic group Hamas.
Faeser also said that the Middle East war was exacerbating the situation. "The danger of further emotionalization and radicalization of Islamist perpetrators of violence is high," emphasized the Interior Minister. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution had recently warned of an acute danger of Islamist attacks.
Islamist stabbed tourist
Johansson announced an additional 30 million euros for the protection of particularly vulnerable places such as places of worship. In Paris at the weekend, an Islamist known to the police stabbed a tourist from Germany to death. In a video, the attacker justified his attack by citing violence against Palestinians, among other things. He also claimed allegiance to the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS).
Sweden's Interior Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard also recalled the Islamist who shot dead two Swedish soccer fans on the sidelines of a European Championship qualifier in Brussels in mid-October and injured others. The IS militia also claimed responsibility.
Faeser said that Europe's security authorities must "keep a particularly close eye on Islamist threats right now" and take joint action against Islamist propaganda. She referred to the ban imposed on Hamas in Germany. Prior to the EU meeting, Faeser had already exchanged views with France, Belgium, Austria, Sweden and Spain.
Agreement on asylum pact?
The meeting of interior ministers will also focus on migration and the common asylum policy. On Wednesday, negotiators from the member states and the European Parliament will attempt to reach an agreement on an asylum pact with which the EU intends to learn the lessons of the 2015 refugee crisis.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who is leading the negotiations for the member states, said he was "reasonably optimistic" about a breakthrough. Faeser called for a compromise, as only then could there be effective external border protection.
Plans include shortened asylum procedures directly at Europe's external borders and faster deportations. Faeser expressed the hope that the European Parliament would make improvements "in Germany's interests". Among other things, the Parliament is demanding exemptions from border procedures for families with children. The German government was largely isolated with this demand at member state level.
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In light of the EU Commission's assessment of an "enormous risk" of terrorist attacks during the holiday season, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and related terrorist incidents, such as the fatal stabbing of a German tourist in Paris by an Islamist, have raised concerns within the EU. European interior ministers, including Germany's Nancy Faeser, have emphasized the need for increased vigilance against Islamist threats and the importance of joint action against Islamist propaganda.
Source: www.ntv.de
