News

Brussels, 29 June 2017

Today, the European Commission presents the 8th report on progress made towards an effective and genuine Security Union, calling for an acceleration of the ongoing work to enhance the security of EU citizens. As set out in the European Council Conclusions of 22-23 June, recent attacks have once again highlighted the need to intensify the joint efforts at EU level to effectively fight terrorism, hatred and violent extremism. Against this backdrop, the Commission today outlines measures taken at EU level to counter radicalisation, fight terrorism and crime and their financing and tackle the cyber threat as well as reporting on the next steps towards interoperability of information systems. First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: "Europe must face up to security challenges and terrorist threats together, with new action at EU level and an acceleration of our ongoing work to protect our citizens. With the backing of national leaders, the Commission has reviewed today what has been done so far, notably in fighting radicalisation and terrorist financing. We are also proposing additional measures to keep Europe safe, like making sure our EU security databases can work better together and improving our response to cyberattacks."

Countering radicalisation — online and offline

One year after presenting a set of concrete measures to support Member States in countering radicalisation – the majority of which are being implemented – the Commission is today outlining a number of additional initiatives to address in particular the use of digital communication and returning foreign terrorist fighters.

• Radicalisation online – the Commission has been working with key internet companies since 2015 including through the EU Internet Forum to detect and remove online terrorist content. In light of recent attacks however, internet platforms should step up their efforts – as called for by the European Council Conclusions of 22-23 June. To complement the work of Europol's Internet Referral Unit, the Commission calls on all Member States to establish national Internet Referral Units.
• Prevention and anti-radicalisation — The Commission will swiftly establish a High-Level Expert Group on Radicalisation to facilitate the further development and enhance the impact of EU policies in this area. The Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) will also carry out a series of workshops on returning terrorist fighters for national authorities.

In addition, as part of long-term measures against radicalisation, the Commission will continue to support social inclusion and integration through initiatives such as Erasmus +, the European Pillar of Social Rights as well as work with partner countries through targeted training and financial support.