Strasbourg, 25 November 2015
Honourable Members,
This debate today came at the right moment, very timely. It was very constructive and sent very strong signals.
Allow me to once again come back to a concern that has been raised by many of you today. The link between migration and terrorism, and the link between religion and terrorism.
I have said it yesterday, President Juncker has said it this morning, and I will repeat it again: We must absolutely dissociate those who need our protection and those who are seeking to attack our values, the very fundamental values of our societies.
It is those same terrorists that refugees are fleeing from.
Let me also once again remind you that almost all of the perpetrators of the last attacks on European soil were EU citizens – and not all were Muslim originally.
We have to ask ourselves why these young people, who are born and bred here, decide to leave, to forsake our communities, and to turn against us.
Daesh precisely wants us to think in opposites, in black and white, to fuel the antagonism that they are creating. Let us not fall in this trap. Let us not give in to fear and panic.
Honourable Members of various political affiliations, we are all smarter than that.
And we know that a united European response is the only answer to the threat.
Together we can improve our resilience to terrorism, and address the complex root causes of radicalisation. We are collectively safer in unity.
We are moving forward on the PNR negotiations and will ensure a fully operational and effective instrument, respecting proportionality.
As regards the checks at our external borders:
in parallel with our package on European Border and Coast Guard, we are exploring the need to include possible modifications to the provisions on checks of EU citizens against databases for public order and internal security reasons.
In the meantime MS should use all the tools available to control external borders. The tools are there!
Moreover, as many of you mentioned Schengen, let me make it clear: Schengen is the most tangible example, it is our greatest achievement in the European integration process.
It is only by making full use of Schengen that we will be able to react to the threats.
But we also need more trust amongst us, to share intelligence, and prevent the possibility and repetition of horrendous attacks like those in Paris.
Europe cannot stand without trust, among all of us, among EU institutions, among Member States and among citizens.
That is why it is so crucial that member States send not just their expert but also their intelligence to the Counter Terrorism Centre in Europol, which will be fully operational on 1st of January 2016.
It is in unity, solidarity, resilience, determination and cooperation that we will fight terrorism. It is the moment for more Europe.