Europe may have to adjust its Schengen border-free system to face off the threat of citizens who join foreign conflicts and return home radicalized, German Interor Minister Thomas De Maiziere said Thursday at talks with his EU counterparts.
The issue of so-called foreign fighters took on a new urgency after a deadly shooting at Belgium’s Jewish Museum in May was blamed on a Franco-Algerian man who is believed to have spent time fighting in Syria alongside jihadist groups.
The EU estimates that some 3,000 European foreign fighters have been involved in the crises in Syria and Iraq.
“These people are trained to use explosives and weapons, they are indoctrinated … and – more problematic in a way – they have raised significantly the level of tolerance to violence,” said EU counterterrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove.
“We don’t want … terror to be exported from Europe and we certainly don’t want trained fighters to return to Europe and Germany and possibly plan attacks here,” De Maizere said ahead of the talks in Luxembourg.
“We need to make sure … that every border official on the EU’s external borders knows if the person leaving is a foreign fighter,” he added.
“This may require changes to the Schengen Information System,” the minister said, referring to the network used to share data among countries in the border-free zone.
His Austrian counterpart, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, called foreign fighters a “ticking time bomb.”
“We simply need more intensive passport controls for EU citizens,” she said, adding that the existing border spot checks are not enough.
Schengen comprises 22 of the EU’s 28 member states and a further four non-EU members. Within this area, people can travel freely between countries, making it harder, however, to track their movements.
De Kerchove said the ministers would also consider a renewed push to set up a European database of airline passenger information, after the European Parliament blocked progress on an existing proposal.
The EU has also been working to counter online radicalization. On Wednesday, representatives from Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft joined the ministers for an informal dinner.
Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said the technology firms had shown “great willingness” to help counter the threat. Proposed measures include workshops to train police, civil society representatives and other internet firms.
“There is a great cooperative responsiblity on their behalf, to not show decapitation videos, for example,” added EU Home Affairs Minister Cecilia Malmstrom. Islamic State militants have posted four videos in recent months showing the beheading of Western hostages.
GNA
