Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for joining me here today, in this commemoration event for victims of terrorism. This is first of all, a day of remembrance. Today, we remember and mourn the victims of terrorist crimes. We remember and honour those that perished unnecessarily. They were innocent citizens. We remember and recognise also their families, and the survivors of the attacks. They have to live forever with the consequences of the atrocities.
Terrorism is a brutality. It is an act of inhumanity and unthinkable callousness. That is why today is also a day of RESOLVE, of RESILIENCE, of DETERMINATION to never let this happen again. We owe this to the victims, to their families and to society as a whole.
This day of commemoration, was initiated in the aftermath of the Madrid attacks in 2004, which killed 191 and injured over 1,800 innocent people. Unfortunately, since that horrific day 12 years ago, the EU has continued to be targeted by the terrorists.
We had a harrowing 2015. Terror claimed the lives of 150 innocent people. Too many lives were lost and too many lives were scarred. The result was more victims and more bereaved families.
Between Madrid and Paris, we had many other attacks. Spain, Estonia, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Norway, Bulgaria, Belgium and Denmark – all suffered the horror of terrorism.
Many countries outside the EU experience this horror regularly – some, almost on a daily basis. In the past year, we have received hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the horrors of life under Da’esh and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. These refugees were once ordinary people, living ordinary lives in their countries.
These lives have been turned upside down.
A number of you here today were either present or lost loved ones in attacks over the last 12 years. I thank you for taking the time and the courage to come here today and to share your experiences. We will continue to find ways to support and empower you and to ensure your voices are heard.
You can play a role in helping those who are on the brink of turning to violent extremism, to THINK TWICE about their intentions. It is often the young and the vulnerable that are prone to radicalisation. With your help, we can discourage and dissuade these individuals from destroying their own lives and the lives of so many others.
Violent extremism has to be opposed in all its forms. We have to stand together against intolerance, racism and totalitarianism. We must not turn on each other for that is exactly what the terrorists want.
There are some remarkable young people here today who have been working to pass exactly these types of messages. I congratulate you on your efforts and urge you to continue the good work. I also want to assure you of my commitment to work at the EU level to protect our citizens from further attacks.
Last year, we presented the European Agenda on Security. Countering terrorism is at the very centre of this Agenda. In December last year, just two weeks after the attacks in Paris, we proposed new legislation to combat terrorism.
These rules, once in effect, will criminalise terrorism in all its aspects and manifestations and it will bring better protection and support to victims of terrorism to recognise their specific needs.
I am very happy to inform you that this morning, EU Member States will make an important step, to make these new rules a reality, as they will reach an agreement on the principles proposed by the Commission. I will join the Member States in the Council and this is the reason why I unfortunately have to leave this morning’s event earlier.
I want to close by acknowledging the Radicalisation Awareness Network, which we set up five years ago to support practitioners, to engage with radicalised individuals and to help those deemed vulnerable to radicalisation.
We strengthened this Network, and turned it into a Centre of Excellence. It is the leaders of this Network, its working groups and its secretariat that I would like to thank for making today´s event a reality.
Let us now stand together in a minute of silence to commemorate those we lost in acts of terrorism, those who have been injured and those who grieve.