/ world today news/ The European dimension of terrorism and migrant flows brought together dozens of representatives of all professional associations in the field of security, national security experts, representatives of the people who work on the topics of foreign policy, defense and national security, university professors, experts and journalists at a round table “The new face of terror – myth and reality”.
It took place on May 13, 2016 and was organized by MEP Iliana Yotova, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in the European Parliament and the Institute for Strategies and Analyses.
5,000 European citizens are fighting for Islamic State, according to research commissioned by the
The European Parliament. However, no one knows how many of them re-enter the territory of the EU, Iliana Yotova reported.
What are the main issues of terrorism currently facing the European Union and the European Parliament?
These are the profile of the new assassins, the radicalization inside European prisons, the recruitment of terrorists on the territory of Europe, the actual construction of the planned “hot spots” along the external borders and above all – the new strategy for the external and coastal borders of the Union, which will be “dressed” as a European directive.
For now, however, this strategy excludes Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, because they are not members of the Schengen area, and this carries the risk of becoming a huge buffer zone, Yotova warned.
Prof. Nikolay Radulov developed before the audience the topic of the necessary synergy in the work of the European special services. “Only integrated police, intelligence and counter-intelligence European structures are able to counteract and respond to real threats and challenges”, the former secretary (1997-1999) of the Ministry of the Interior was categorical.
According to him, the state of organized crime is essential to modern terrorism. From this point of view, the monitoring of organized crime should be used to detect serious prerequisites for terrorism. High levels of organized crime and corruption are harbingers of enabling and sustaining conditions for terror.
It is important that European societies, including Bulgaria, bring security issues to the fore. We still see that security issues are underestimated when making serious decisions. This was pointed out by Yordan Bozhilov, chairman of the Sofia Security Forum. He conducted a study according to which 80 percent of respondents believe that the danger of radicalism is great. 35% think it is immediate. Most are of the opinion that Islamic radicalism is the main danger for Bulgaria.
Terrorism relies on three main things – a mother state, a terrorist nucleus and cells that operate in an aggressive environment. To cope with the aggressive environment, terrorists rely on sympathizers – citizens with European passports. What is new in terror in the last 3-4 years is exactly that – the approach of terrorists to cooperating sympathizers. To them they offer a concept of a shared future. This is where modern terrorism derives its superiority”, said the former head of DANS, Konstantin Kazakov, in his report to the forum.
How to counter this new type of threat? According to Kazakov – with the development of an alternative to the concept of a shared future by the European Union. “The approach should be both social and legislative,” he emphasized.
The European Union did not see the terrorist challenges in time and could not deal with them when it was much easier. Intelligence services are closed systems and are closer to individual national interests than to any imagined EU interests. This was the thesis of Prof. Dimitar Yonchev.
The discussion that took place emphasized the need for more concreteness in the common European policy against extremists, as well as the rapid activation of the future unified EU-level system for combating terrorism.
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