Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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| 11.8.2017 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 265/84 |

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P8\_TA(2015)0269

European Agenda on Security

European Parliament resolution of 9 July 2015 on the European Agenda on Security (2015/2697(RSP))

(2017/C 265/10)

The European Parliament,

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| — | having regard to Articles 2, 3, 6, 7 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union and to Articles 4, 16, 20, 67, 68, 70-72, 75, 82-87 and 88 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |

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| — | having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular Articles 6, 7, 8, 10(1), 11, 12, 21, 47-50, 52 and 53 thereof, |

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| — | having regard to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the conventions, recommendations, resolutions and reports of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of Ministers, the Human Rights Commissioner and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, |

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| — | having regard to the Commission Communication of 28 April 2015 on the European Agenda on Security (COM(2015)0185), |

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| — | having regard to the Communications from the Commission on the Strategy for the effective implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by the European Union (COM(2010)0573) and the Operational Guidance on taking account of Fundamental Rights in Commission Impact Assessments (SEC(2011)0567), |

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| — | having regard to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 8 April 2014 in Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12, which annulled Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks, |

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| — | having regard to Regulation (EU) No 513/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 establishing, as part of the Internal Security Fund, the instrument for financial support for police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management and repealing Council Decision 2007/125/JHA[(1)](#ntr1-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0001), |

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| — | having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2011 on the EU Counter-Terrorism Policy: main achievements and future challenges[(2)](#ntr2-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0002), |

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| — | having regard to its resolution of 27 February 2014 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union (2012)[(3)](#ntr3-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0003), |

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| — | having regard to its resolution of 12 March 2014 on the US NSA surveillance programme, surveillance bodies in various Member States and their impact on EU citizens’ fundamental rights and on transatlantic cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs[(4)](#ntr4-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0004), |

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| — | having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2014 on renewing the EU Internal Security Strategy[(5)](#ntr5-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0005), |

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| — | having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2015 on anti-terrorism measures[(6)](#ntr6-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0006), |

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| — | having regard to its plenary debate on 28 April 2015 on the European Agenda on Security, |

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| — | having regard to the questions to the Council and to the Commission on the European Agenda on Security (O-000064/2015 — B8-0566/2015 and O-000065/2015 — B8-0567/2015), |

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| — | having regard to the motion for a resolution of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, |

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| — | having regard to Rules 128(5) and 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure, |

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| A. | whereas the threats to the Union’s internal security have become more complex, hybrid, asymmetric, unconventional, international, rapidly evolving and difficult to predict, going beyond the capacity of any individual Member State, and therefore require more than ever a coherent, comprehensive, multi-layered and coordinated EU response which fully takes into account respect for fundamental rights; |

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| B. | whereas development of EU security policy is a shared responsibility which requires coordinated and aligned efforts by all Member States, EU institutions and agencies, civil society and law enforcement authorities, is geared towards common goals and is based on the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights; whereas in order to deliver optimal results, the concrete implementation of these shared goals and priorities should be associated with a clear division of tasks between the EU level and the national level, on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity and with strong and effective parliamentary and judicial oversight; |

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| C. | whereas the national security exception included in Article 4(2) TEU cannot be used to allow national security agencies to infringe on the interests, including economic interests, of other Member States, their citizens’ and residents’ rights and the laws and policies of the European Union and third countries more generally; |

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| D. | whereas attention should be brought to the need to learn the lessons from the many breaches of European and universal norms and values in the context of internal and external security cooperation post-9/11; |

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| E. | whereas freedom, security and justice are objectives that must be pursued in parallel; whereas, in order to achieve freedom and justice, security measures should therefore always respect democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in accordance with the principles of necessity and proportionality and should be subjected to proper democratic oversight and accountability; whereas the justice and prevention dimension is not sufficiently covered in the European Agenda on Security; |

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| F. | whereas a number of the root causes of crime, such as increasing inequality, poverty, racial and xenophobic violence and hate crimes, cannot be addressed by security measures alone, but need to be addressed in a wider policy context, including improved social, employment, educational, cultural and external policies; |

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| G. | whereas the prevention aspect of the European Agenda on Security is particularly essential in a period of growing economic and social inequities that undermine the social pact and the effectiveness of fundamental rights and public freedoms; whereas alternative measures to prison on the one hand and reintegration measures on the other, in particular regarding minor offences, should be an important element of such prevention policies; |

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| H. | whereas, upon the expiry of the transitional period provided for in Protocol 36 annexed to the Treaties, the Commission and the European Court of Justice have obtained full powers with respect to the former third-pillar legal instruments, expanding democratic and fundamental rights accountability over measures taken that have played an important role in shaping the area of freedom, security and justice; |

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| I. | whereas cybercrime and cyber-facilitated crime affect the security of EU citizens, the internal market and the intellectual property and prosperity of the European Union; whereas, for example, botnets as a form of cybercrime affect millions of computers and thousands of targets at the same time; |

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| J. | whereas the boundaries between internal and external security are becoming more and more blurred, which requires stronger cooperation and coordination between Member States resulting in a comprehensive and multidimensional approach; |

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| K. | whereas special attention should be paid to supporting and protecting all victims of terrorism and crime across the EU as a major part of the security agenda; |

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|  | 1. | Takes note of the European Agenda on Security for the 2015-2020 period as proposed by the Commission and the priorities set out in it; considers that, in view of the challenges the European Union is currently facing, terrorism, violent extremism, cross-border organised crime and cybercrime are the most serious threats which require coordinated actions at national, EU and global level; points out that the Agenda should be structured in a flexible way to respond to possible new challenges in the future; |

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|  | 2. | Reiterates the need to further address the root causes of crime, including inequality, poverty and discrimination; stresses furthermore the need to ensure adequate resources for social workers, local and national police officers and judicial officials whose budgets have been slashed in some Member States; |

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|  | 3. | Calls for the right balance to be sought between prevention policies and repressive measures in order to preserve freedom, security and justice; stresses that security measures should always be pursued in accordance with the principles of the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights such as the right to privacy and data protection, freedom of expression and association and due process; calls on the Commission, therefore, when implementing the European Agenda on Security, to take due account of the recent Court of Justice ruling on the Data Retention Directive (judgment in Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12), which requires all instruments to comply with the principles of proportionality, necessity and legality, and to include the appropriate safeguards of accountability and judicial redress; calls upon the Commission to fully assess the impact of this judgement on any instrument involving the retention of data for law enforcement purposes; |

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|  | 4. | Recalls that in order to be a credible actor in promoting fundamental rights both internally and externally, the European Union should base its security policies, the fight against terrorism and the fight against organised crime, and its partnerships with third countries in the field of security on a comprehensive approach that integrates all the factors leading people to engage in terrorism or in organised crime, and thus integrate economic and social policies developed and implemented with full respect for fundamental rights and subjected to judicial and democratic control and in-depth evaluations; |

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|  | 5. | Welcomes the Commission’s choice to base the Agenda on the principles of full compliance with the rule of law and fundamental rights which should be guaranteed through proper judicial oversight; of more transparency, accountability and democratic control; of better application and implementation of existing legal instruments; of a more joined-up inter-agency and cross-sectoral approach; and of greater links between the internal and external dimensions of security; calls on the Commission and on the Council to strictly comply with these principles in the implementation of the Agenda; points out that Parliament will put these principles at the core of its monitoring of the Agenda’s implementation; |

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|  | 6. | Welcomes the specific focus put in the Agenda on fundamental rights, and in particular the Commission’s commitment to strictly assess any security measure it proposes, not only for the extent to which the measure achieves its objectives but also for its compliance with fundamental rights; underlines the need for the Commission to involve in its assessment all relevant bodies and agencies, and in particular the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Data Protection Supervisor, Europol and Eurojust; asks the Commission to provide all information and documentation on this assessment, so as to allow Parliament to perform its democratic oversight effectively; |

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|  | 7. | Recalls in this regard its condemnation of measures entailing the vast and systematic blanket collection of the personal data of innocent people, particularly in view of the potentially severe effects on fair trial rights, non-discrimination, privacy and data protection, freedom of the press, thought and speech, and freedom of assembly and association, and entailing a significant potential for abusive use of information gathered against political adversaries; expresses severe doubts concerning the usefulness of mass surveillance measures as they often cast the net too wide and therefore throw up too many false positives and negatives; warns of the danger of mass surveillance measures obscuring the need to invest in perhaps less costly, more effective and less intrusive law enforcement measures; |

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|  | 8. | Calls on the Member States to ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is respected in all legislation relating to security; |

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|  | 9. | Notes that the EU lacks an agreed definition of ‘national security’, creating an undefined carveout in EU legal instruments which contain references to ‘national security’; |

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|  | 10. | Believes that in order for citizens to have more confidence in security policies, the EU institutions and agencies and the Member States should ensure transparency, accountability and democratic control in the process of policy development and implementation; welcomes the intention of the Commission to regularly present to Parliament and the Council updated information on the implementation of the Agenda; reiterates its intention to organise regular monitoring exercises, in cooperation with the national parliaments, on the proper implementation and progress of the Agenda; notes with interest the Commission’s proposal to set up an EU Security Consultative Forum; calls for this Forum to ensure a balanced representation of all relevant stakeholders and looks forward to receiving more detailed information on it, in particular regarding its exact role, tasks, composition and powers and the involvement of the European Parliament and national parliaments in it; |

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|  | 11. | Stresses the need to improve the democratic and judicial oversight of Member State intelligence services; notes that Parliament, the Court of Justice and the Ombudsman lack sufficient powers to conduct an effective level of scrutiny of European security policies; |

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|  | 12. | Calls on the Commission and the Council to establish a roadmap — or a similar mechanism — 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; believes that an ‘EU policy cycle’-type of approach (with identification and assessment of common threats and vulnerabilities, political priority setting and development of strategic and operation plans, effective implementation with clear drivers, timelines and deliverables, and evaluation) could provide for the necessary coherence and continuity in the implementation of the Agenda, provided that Parliament is properly involved in setting the political priorities and strategic objectives; looks forward to further discuss these issues with the Commission and the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI); |

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|  | 13. | Welcomes the underlying principle of the Agenda to fully apply and implement existing instruments in the area of security before proposing new ones; reiterates the need for a more expeditious and efficient sharing of relevant data and information, subject to the appropriate data protection and privacy safeguards; deplores, however, that despite numerous calls by Parliament, an evaluation of the effectiveness of existing EU instruments — also in the light of new security threats the EU is facing — and of the remaining gaps, is still lacking; believes that such an exercise is needed to ensure that the European security policy is efficient, necessary, proportionate, coherent and comprehensive; calls on the Commission to provide such an operational evaluation of existing EU instruments, resources and funding in the internal security area as a priority measure under the roadmap for implementation of the Agenda; reiterates its calls on the Council and the Commission to comprehensively evaluate the implementation of the measures adopted in the area of internal security before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, making use of the procedure provided for in Article 70 TFEU; |

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|  | 14. | Welcomes the Commission’s focus on border management as an essential aspect of preventing cross-border crime and terrorism; stresses that EU border security should be reinforced by systematic checks against existing databases, such as SIS; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to present its revised proposal on Smart Borders by the beginning of 2016; |

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|  | 15. | Supports the Commission’s call for a more joined-up inter-agency and cross-sectoral approach and the proposed measures for improving the exchange of information and good practices and for increasing operational cooperation between the Member States and with the EU agencies; reiterates its call for greater use of the existing instruments and databases such as SIS and ECRIS, and of joint investigation teams; calls on the Commission to take all necessary measures to speed up the conclusion of pending working arrangements between agencies; notes with regret that not enough concrete measures are provided for in the Agenda with a view to strengthening its justice dimension; calls for the integration and further development of all aspects of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, including by strengthening the rights of suspected and accused persons, victims and witnesses and by improving the implementation of existing EU mutual recognition instruments; |

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|  | 16. | Fully supports the Commission’s priority of helping Member States to further develop mutual trust, to fully exploit existing tools for information-sharing and to foster cross-border operational cooperation between competent authorities; underlines the importance of such cross-border operational cooperation, in particular in border regions; |

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|  | 17. | Calls on the Commission to quickly table a legislative proposal amending Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II)[(7)](#ntr7-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0007) to harmonise the alert criteria and make compulsory alerts regarding persons convicted or suspected of terrorism; |

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|  | 18. | Welcomes the Commission’s announced assessment of the necessity and potential added value of a European Police Record Index System (EPRIS) to facilitate cross-border access to information held in national police records and fully supports the launch of a pilot project planned by a group of Member States to establish mechanisms for automated cross-border searches in national indexes on a ‘hit’/‘no hit’ basis; underlines the importance of cross-border access to information, in particular in border regions; |

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|  | 19. | Stresses the importance of Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) to investigate specific cases of a cross-border nature and calls on the Member States to use this successful tool more regularly; invites the Commission to develop proposals for a legal framework that would allow the establishment of semi-permanent or permanent JITs to address persistent threats, in particular in border regions, such as drugs trafficking, human trafficking, and motorcycle gangs; |

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|  | 20. | Regrets that instruments such as freezing and confiscation of criminal assets are not yet used systematically in all appropriate cross-border cases, and calls for increased efforts from the Member States and the Commission in this area; |

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|  | 21. | Emphasises that a democratic and judicial oversight gap exists over cross-border cooperation between national intelligence agencies; expresses its concerns regarding the fact that democratic and judicial oversight is severely hampered by the third-party rule regarding access to documents; |

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|  | 22. | Notes that the boundaries between external and internal security are becoming more blurred and welcomes, therefore, the Commission’s commitment to ensure that the internal and external dimensions of the security policy work in tandem; calls on the Commission and the Member States to regularly assess the impact of the Agenda on the EU external security strategy and vice versa, including the obligations of respect for, and promotion of, fundamental freedoms and rights and democratic values and principles as contained in the international conventions and agreements they have ratified or signed; underlines the need to further strengthen the links, synergies and coherence between the two, especially in dealing with the new, cross-cutting, hybrid threats that Europe is facing, while respecting the Union’s values and fundamental rights; asks the Commission to report regularly to Parliament all further actions aimed at developing the link between the internal and external dimension of security policy and its cooperation with third countries in the security field, in order for Parliament to be able to exercise its right of democratic scrutiny together with national parliaments; |

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|  | 23. | Highlights the importance and timeliness of the ongoing strategic review by the VP/HR, entrusted to her by the European Council of December 2013, which should lead to the adoption of a new European Security Strategy; a broad strategy including foreign and security policy issues should identify and describe EU interests, priorities and objectives, existing and evolving threats, challenges and opportunities, and the EU instruments and means to meet them; |

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|  | 24. | Calls for very strong human rights clauses in cooperation agreements with third countries, especially in North Africa and the Gulf region with regard to security cooperation; calls for cooperation with non-democratic countries with poor human rights records to be reconsidered; |

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|  | 25. | Stresses the crucial importance of addressing the root causes of armed conflict, extremism and poverty in third countries, as these cause security challenges for the EU; urges the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to support inclusive, pluralistic and well-functioning states that have a strong and viable civil society capable of delivering freedom, security, justice, and employment to their citizens; |

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|  | 26. | Urges the VP/HR to present a draft Common position on the use of armed drones in line with Parliament’s resolution of 27 February 2014 on the use of armed drones[(8)](#ntr8-C_2017265EN.01008401-E0008); |

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|  | 27. | Acknowledges the Commission’s urgent call to finalise the work on the adoption of the EU PNR Directive; reiterates its commitment to work towards its finalisation by the end of the year; stresses 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; calls on the Commission to continue to support this process by providing any relevant additional elements for the necessity and proportionality of an EU PNR Directive; asks that any future proposal creating new tools in the field of security, such as PNR, systematically includes mechanisms for the exchange of information and cooperation between Member States; |

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|  | 28. | Agrees with the Commission on the pivotal importance of supporting actions relating to training, research and innovation and the important work of the European Police College (CEPOL) in this field; considers that training and exchange programmes for law enforcement officials are of significant importance for further fostering a European law enforcement culture and good practices in that field; believes that more investment is necessary in research and innovation relating to security, including in the prevention field; |

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|  | 29. | Points out that the rapidly changing security situation calls for a flexible, adaptive and reactive approach, development of technical capabilities and regular review of the priority actions set out in the Agenda; points out, in this respect, that use could be made of Article 222 TFEU which requires the European Council to regularly conduct an assessment of threats to the Union, inter alia by building upon existing threat assessments performed by Member States and Europol, and to inform the European Parliament and the national parliaments of its outcome and follow-up; |

Terrorism

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|  | 30. | Welcomes the measures set out in the Agenda to combat terrorism, to tackle terrorist financing, to counter the threat of EU nationals and residents who travel abroad for the purpose of terrorism (‘foreign fighters’) and to prevent radicalisation; notes the proposed new structure of the European Counter-Terrorism Centre to be created within Europol and calls on the Commission to further clarify its exact role, tasks, powers and oversight, particularly in view of the need to ensure proper democratic and judicial oversight at the appropriate levels, including through the ongoing revision of Europol’s mandate; emphasises that increased sharing of information between Member States is crucial in the fight against terrorism and that this should be done on a more structural basis; |

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|  | 31. | Condemns any analysis that leads to confusion between terrorism, insecurity, Islam and migrants; |

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|  | 32. | Recalls in the light of the recent terrorists attacks in Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen and Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, 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: reinforcing EU border security, enhancing internet referral capabilities, and fighting against illicit trafficking in firearms, as well as stepping up information sharing and operation cooperation between national law enforcement and intelligence services; |

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|  | 33. | Recalls the crucial importance of tracking and disrupting financial flows, including non-Swift financial flows, in combatting terrorist networks and organised crime groups; welcomes the efforts undertaken to ensure a fair and balanced participation in the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP); |

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|  | 34. | Stresses that the threat of home-grown terrorism in the EU is reaching dangerous new levels ever since Islamic fundamentalists took over land in Syria and Iraq and undertook a worldwide propaganda campaign to join forces with jihadists and to carry out attacks within the EU’s borders; |

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|  | 35. | Stresses that addressing the threat posed by foreign fighters and terrorism in general requires a multi-layer approach that involves comprehensively addressing underlying factors such as radicalisation, developing social cohesion and inclusiveness and facilitating reintegration by promoting political and religious tolerance, analysing and counterbalancing online incitement to perform terrorist acts, preventing departures to join terrorist organisations, preventing and stemming recruitment and engagement in armed conflicts, disrupting financial support to terrorist organisations and individuals aiming to join them, ensuring firm legal prosecution where appropriate and providing law enforcement authorities with the appropriate tools to perform their duties with full respect for fundamental rights; |

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|  | 36. | Calls on the Commission to develop together with the Member States a genuine strategy as regards European fighters — which is currently lacking in the Agenda on Security — and in particular those returning from conflict zones who want to leave the terrorist organisations which recruited them and show a willingness to reintegrate into society; considers that a special emphasis should be put on the situation of young European fighters; |

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|  | 37. | Reiterates its resolve to ensure accountability for massive violations of fundamental rights under the guise of the fight against terrorism, in particular in the context of the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners in European countries by the CIA, by means of open and transparent investigations; calls for protection to be given to those revealing such violations, such as journalists and whistleblowers; |

Radicalisation

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|  | 38. | Agrees that the prevention of radicalisation should be a priority for the EU; regrets the lack of more concrete measures in the Agenda to address radicalisation in Europe and calls 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; calls on the Commission to strengthen the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), which brings 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; recommends that its structure also include local and national decision-makers, so as to ensure practical implementation of the recommendations developed by experts and stakeholders; calls for bolder measures to tackle radicalisation on the Internet and the use of Internet websites or social media to spread radical ideologies in Europe; welcomes the creation of an Internet Referral Unit at Europol to support Member States in identifying and removing violent extremist content online with the cooperation of the industry, and calls on the Commission to provide the additional resources necessary for its functioning; regrets the lack of concrete measures to strengthen the role of the Internet as an awareness-raising tool against radicalisation, and in particular to disseminate counter-narratives online in a proactive manner so as to counter terrorist propaganda; |

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|  | 39. | Points out that a successful security policy has 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; |

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|  | 40. | Believes that extensive research and concrete measures should be developed, with the financial and operational support of the Commission, so as to promote and share with all European citizens, through effective channels of communication, our common values of tolerance, pluralism, respect for freedom of speech and conscience, and our fundamental rights in general; considers that the Agenda should also underline the need to fight misconceptions about religions, in particular Islam, which do not as such play a role in radicalisation and terrorism; |

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|  | 41. | Expresses its concern with regard to the recent rise of incidents of hate crime, including online, against European citizens; calls on Member States to protect their citizens from future attacks and to prevent incitement to hatred and any act of intolerance based on origin, belief or religion, including through educational work targeting young people and the promotion of an inclusive dialogue; |

Organised crime

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|  | 42. | Agrees that human trafficking is a phenomenon that needs to be addressed more effectively at European level; strongly rejects, however, any link between irregular migration and terrorism; points out that the lack of legal avenues into the EU in order to seek protection generates a constant demand for irregular avenues, thus endangering vulnerable migrants in need of international protection; |

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|  | 43. | Stresses the gravity of organised crime in the field of trafficking in human beings; draws attention to the extreme degrees of violence and brutality inflicted by criminals on this particularly vulnerable group; welcomes the existing framework and agrees on the need for a post-2016 strategy that involves Europol and Eurojust with their specific knowledge in this field; |

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|  | 44. | Acknowledges that the fight against organised crime requires strong European action; supports the Commission’s determination to tackle this issue; calls 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; |

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|  | 45. | Points out that 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; notes with satisfaction that the Agenda acknowledges the dynamic character of the drugs problem, and in particular its connection to organised crime and the evolving threat of market innovation in the production and sale of both new and established drugs; stresses the need for swift adoption of the proposed package on new psychoactive substances and urges the Council to make progress on it; |

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|  | 46. | Believes that, 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; notes that the protection of victims should be regarded as an important tool to combat organised crime and terrorism, as it sends a clear message to offenders that society will not succumb to violence and will at all times safeguard victims and their dignity; |

Cybercrime

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|  | 47. | Emphasises that terrorist organisations and organised criminal groups are increasingly using cyberspace to facilitate all forms of crime and that cybercrime and cyber-facilitated crime constitute a major threat to EU citizens and the EU economy; notes that cybercrime requires a new approach to law enforcement and judicial cooperation in the digital age; points out that new technological developments increase the impact of cybercrime in scale and speed and, therefore, calls on the Commission to perform a thorough analysis of the powers of law enforcement and judicial authorities and their legal and technical capabilities online and offline so as to allow them to tackle cybercrime effectively, while underlining that all enforcement measures have to strictly respect fundamental rights, be necessary and proportionate and adhere to EU and national law; calls in particular on the Commission to make sure that the right to use encryption remains intact throughout the European Union and that, while the interception of communications in the context of a police investigation or judicial procedure can always be possible with the appropriate judicial authorisation, no measures interfering with the right of individuals to use encryption shall be implemented by Member States; asks the Commission to give the Europol Internet Referral Unit the additional resources necessary for its functioning rather than proceeding by internal redeployments of posts, including staff of the European Centre against Cybercrime (EC3), which must not be left understaffed; |

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|  | 48. | Underlines the essential importance of research and innovation in order to keep the EU up-to-date with changing security needs; highlights the importance of a competitive EU security industry to contribute to the EU’s autonomy in security; reiterates 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; |

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|  | 49. | Calls on the Commission to launch a commensurate awareness and preparedness campaign on the risks linked to serious cybercrime in order to improve resilience against cyber-attacks; |

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|  | 50. | Welcomes the work done by EC3 in fighting serious transnational cybercrime and cyber-facilitated crime; underlines the key role of EC3 in supporting Member States in particular in the fight against child sexual exploitation; reiterates the announcements made by the Commission to equip EC3 with the necessary experts and budget in order to boost areas of European cooperation which have not been addressed since its creation in 2013; |

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|  | 51. | Calls for the Commission to carry out a full assessment of existing measures related to combating the sexual exploitation of children online, to assess whether or not further legislative tools are required, and to examine whether EUROPOL has sufficient expertise, resources and staff to be able to tackle this horrific crime; |

Financing

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|  | 52. | Regrets the fact that the Commission’s draft budget for 2016 provides for an increase in Europol’s budget by only approximately EUR 1,5 million, which does not give it the necessary resources to set up, as planned in the Agenda, a European Counter-Terrorism Centre and an Internet Referral Unit; |

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|  | 53. | Welcomes the statement made by the First Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, in the European Parliament that the Commission will align the available financial resources to the priorities of the Agenda; stresses once again, in this regard, the importance of ensuring that the relevant EU agencies are equipped with adequate human and financial resources to fulfil their current and future tasks under the Agenda; intends to closely scrutinise the implementation, and assess the future needs, of the Internal Security Fund at EU and national level; |

o

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|  | 54. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. |

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