Violent extremism linked to failure of migrants to integrate, EU says
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The rise of violent extremism in Europe has been linked to the failure of migrants to integrate, in a hard-debated joint declaration by EU governments on the recent terror attacks.
The statement by EU home affairs ministers was described by Horst Seehofer, Germany’s interior minister, as a “great sign of solidarity” when delivered on Friday but it had been heavily watered down from a controversial initial draft.
After a week of disagreements over the contents of the proposed declaration pushed by France, Austria and Germany, references to Islam were removed along with demands for newcomers to learn the languages of their new home and “earn a living for oneself”.
European leaders are eager to show that they are responding forcefully to the recent attacks, but they have been unable to muster much in the way of new policy proposals. Instead, they have mainly pledged to finally implement old ideas — such as the rapid removal of online extremist continent — that were first put forward five years ago, following large-scale terror attacks in Paris.
“Integration is a two-way street. This means that migrants are expected to make an active effort to become integrated, while help in this regard is important,” the statement said. It also declared, “We must effectively control our external borders, record entries and departures from the Schengen area in digital form, and cooperate more closely with third countries in order to combat terrorist threats.”
Friday’s meeting was not originally on the agenda of the Council of the EU, whose rotating presidency is currently held by Germany. It was added last month to raise the odds that EU member countries might finally be able to reach a political deal on the migration pact presented in September by the European Commission. Such a deal has long eluded EU countries, and many officials believed only the German presidency could broker an agreement on such a tough issue.
