The European Parliament adopted by 205 votes to 204 with 184 abstentions, a resolution tabled by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on the European Agenda on Security.
Whilst taking note of the European Agenda on Security for the 2015-2020 period as proposed by the Commission, Parliament considered that terrorism, violent extremism, cross-border organised crime and cybercrime were the most serious threats which required coordinated actions at national, EU and global level.
As general measures, Parliament recommended the following:
In this context, Parliament recalled its condemnation of measures entailing the vast and systematic blanket collection of the personal data of innocent people, obscuring the need to invest in perhaps less costly, more effective and less intrusive law enforcement measures.
Noting that the EU lacked an agreed definition of ‘national security’, creating an undefined carveout in EU legal instruments which contain references to ‘national security’, Members felt that the EU institutions and Member States should ensure transparency, accountability and democratic control in the process of policy development to ensure the trust of citizens in security policy. They stressed the need to improve the democratic and judicial oversight of Member State intelligence services.
Parliament welcomed the Commission’s focus on border management as an essential aspect of preventing cross-border crime and terrorism. It stressed that EU border security should be reinforced by systematic checks against existing databases, such as SIS. It welcomed the Commission’s commitment to present its revised proposal on Smart Borders by the beginning of 2016.
The Commission was asked to quickly table a legislative proposal amending Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) to harmonise the alert criteria and make compulsory alerts regarding persons convicted or suspected of terrorism.
Parliament also reiterated its commitment to work towards the finalisation of the EU PNR Directive by the end of the year. It stressed that the PNR Directive should respect fundamental rights and data protection standards, including the relevant case law of the Court of Justice, while providing an efficient tool at EU level.
Terrorism: in the light of the recent terrorists attacks in Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen and Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, Parliament recalled the urgent need for the EU to assess better the threat against EU security and to focus on immediate priority areas for the fight against terrorism: (i) reinforcing EU border security, (ii) enhancing internet referral capabilities, and fighting against illicit trafficking in firearms, as well as (iii) stepping up information sharing and operation cooperation between national law enforcement and intelligence services. It recalled the crucial importance of tracking and disrupting financial flows in combatting terrorist networks.
Members condemned any analysis that leads to confusion between terrorism, insecurity, Islam and migrants.
Parliament called on the Commission to develop together with Member States a genuine strategy as regards European fighters, which required a multi-layer approach that involved comprehensively addressing underlying factors.
Radicalisation: Members called on the Commission to take urgent and comprehensive action to intensify measures aimed at preventing radicalisation and violent extremism, preventing the spread of extremist ideologies and fostering integration and inclusiveness. It called on the Commission to strengthen the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), which brought together all relevant actors involved in initiatives to address radicalisation at grassroots level, and to clarify the mandate, tasks and scope of the new proposed RAN Centre of Excellence.
The resolution pointed out that a successful security policy had to address the underlying factors of extremism, such as radicalisation, intolerance and discrimination, by promoting political and religious tolerance, developing social cohesion and inclusiveness and facilitating reintegration.
Organised crime: the fight against organised crime requiring strong European action, Parliament called on the Commission in particular to establish strong cooperation in tackling human trafficking, but also cooperation with third countries to prevent the smuggling of migrants in order to avoid new tragedies in the Mediterranean. More attention should be paid to developments in cross-border organised crime with regard to arms trafficking, trafficking in human beings, and the production and sale of illicit drugs.
Apart from EU instruments to combat organised crime and terrorism, a European Agenda on Security should include protection mechanisms for victims of these serious crimes in order to prevent further victimisation.
Cybercrime: noting that cybercrime required a new approach to law enforcement and judicial cooperation in the digital age, the resolution underlined the essential importance of research and innovation in order to keep the EU up-to-date with changing security needs. Parliament reiterated its call for improved autonomy in EU IT security and the need to consider EU-made security devices and services for critical infrastructure and public services.
The Commission was asked to launch an awareness and preparedness campaign on the risks linked to serious cybercrime in order to improve resilience against cyber-attacks.
Financing: Parliament regretted the fact that the Commission’s draft budget for 2016 provided for an increase in Europol’s budget by only approximately EUR 1.5 million, which did not give it the necessary resources to set up, as planned in the Agenda, a European Counter-Terrorism Centre and an Internet Referral Unit.
However, Members welcomed the statement made by the First Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, in the European Parliament that the Commission would align the available financial resources to the priorities of the Agenda.
The Commission and the Council were asked to establish a roadmap as quickly as possible to ensure the effective and operational implementation of the Agenda, to submit it to Parliament and to start its implementation within the next six months.