Remarks by Commissioner Avramopoulos at the Intelligence/Terrorism Roundtable
We meet here today to discuss terrorism, in what is arguably the most volatile international security environment since World War II.
The terrorist threat is imminent. We mourned 133 innocent people last year. 151 in 2015.
In Germany, France, Belgium and elsewhere: hundreds wounded and many more indirectly affected.
Many attacks prevented by security services. From the threat perspective, Europe has unfortunately become a single space.
Terrorists know no borders. Our common response to the threat has improved following recent attacks.
But it is still too fragmented. We still do not have a single European security space.
We are still not sharing enough when it comes to information and intelligence.
This sharing is the first thing that needs to happen, to face a threat which is so multi-faceted and constantly evolving.
Starting from the management of our external borders, which can produce critical information to tackle terrorist threats.
An efficient external border management, is the only way to make our Schengen area of free movement, without internal border controls, sustainable and secure.
The terrorist attacks came at the same time as the refugee crisis. And though we will never equate people fleeing violence and terror at home with terrorists, we saw in some recent cases such as Berlin, that there are linkages with security.
We are now also dealing with lone wolves that do not travel to Syria any more, but become radicalised once they are here.
Our external border management is the nexus of our policy on security and migration.
That is why we will soon have systematic checks on all travellers, including EU citizens, crossing our border.
That is why we proposed an Entry-Exit system for all third country nationals, and a European Travel Information and Authorisation System for visa-free travellers.
That is also why we are investing all our energy on interconnecting all our information systems on security, borders and migration: to connect all the dots at European level, and fight the threats as they materialise across the Union.
Our American friends around the table will immediately relate to this. It was the same paradigm shift they put in place after 9/11 to overcome the fragmentation of their security framework.
Of course our situation in Europe is different. Intelligence is a national prerogative. We will not change this. We don’t need new structures. No European CIA – at least not yet.
Europol is the perfect one-stop shop for connecting all these dots.
One year ago, we established the European Counter Terrorism Centre at Europol.
Already, it has shown its added value for national investigators after the Paris and Brussels attacks.
But most importantly, it has already become an information hub for our counterterrorism work: information exchange increased by 75% in one year, and the number of counterterrorism operations supported rose by 45%.
We are doing better. But there is still huge room for improvement. More can and should be done.
Intelligence services have to talk to law enforcement at European level.
We can help bridge this gap. And we are pushing in that direction.
Europol and the Group of national intelligence services in Europe are now exploring how to improve their cooperation.
To conclude: Little by little, learning from hard lessons, we are taking big steps on security in Europe.
A few years ago, a European PNR system was unthinkable. Now it is being rapidly implemented.
And we are taking action to move towards a common European defence.
But as regards the problem of terrorism: the ultimate objective should be a genuine and effective Security Union in Europe.
Remarks by Commissioner Avramopoulos at the Migration Roundtable
Everyone is looking at Europe when it comes to migration. But this is not only about Europe. The Syrian crisis is not a European crisis. The bad economic situation which pushes people to move illegaly in some countries is not a European one.
The refugee crisis is a global challenge, and it requires all global actors to play a role. We need all countries of origin, transit and destination around the world to get involved.
In this context, let me stress that Europe is fully taking its share of the global responsibility by putting in place all the elements to ensure a better, more efficient and secure management of the migratory flows towards and inside Europe.
And Europe will increase its contribution to what is a common responsibility: containing the flows, granting protection to those in need and opening legal and safe channels to Europe for them, while returning those who do not need protection.
Indeed, an efficient return policy is also essential to reassure citizens that only those who have a right to stay remain in Europe.
In the last months, we have seen a significant drop in the arrivals of migrants to Europe especially in Greece and along the Balkan route, thanks to the EU–Turkey cooperation.
At the same time, the EU has been delivering on its commitment to resettle people safely to Europe, and will continue to do so.
Managing migration requires both immediate measures but also long-term policies.
We cannot become complacent. This is why we have to also address the root causes of migration in the first place, and continue preventing the loss of life at sea or along the route.
To address this challenge, the Commission has been engaging with all the key countries of origin and transit in Africa.
We have recently beefed up our strategy in the Central Mediterranean.
We are offering these countries financial assistance and technical cooperation, to help them enhance their capacity to manage the migration flows but also to address the root causes.
The EU and its Member States will continue patrolling the Central Mediterranean.
We will also support Libyan authorities’ capacity to take their part of the responsibility in preventing irregular departures and saving lives at sea.
In cooperation with IOM and UNHCR, we will also support the Libyan authorities’ to give a more dignified treatment, to the migrants arriving to Libya, and to offer them support for local integration, resettlement abroad, or voluntary return back home.
All of this must happen in full respect of fundamental rights. Ultimately of course the key is that Libya obtains its stability.
But we cannot succeed in this with just a handful of countries, or the usual suspects.
This is a common challenge, where we have to work on many different fronts, with many different actors and countries – many of whom I see here around the table too.
Europe is ready to play its global role – but we count on our global partners.
Migration today is putting the cohesion of our societies in question, not just in Europe but worldwide.
We hear the voices of nationalists, xenophobes and populists louder today, and in the meantime our citizens have concerns, fears.
It is our responsibility to take those fears away, not fuel them.
There is no simple solution to migration, even though some might shout simple slogans or answers.
Ultimately, migration is not a problem to be solved – it is a centuries old phenomenon that requires to be better managed.
As we have entered the era of human mobility, we must turn this into an opportunity, whilst not sacrificing our security.
Citizens expect us to protect them, but not at the expense of their freedoms and fundamental values. Now is the moment to defend our democratic values and freedoms.
And migration is a catalyst for this, both in Europe and around the world.