Debate: Terrorist threats posed by far-right extremist networks defying the democratic constitutional order
Date: WEDNESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Jessika Roswall 
Language: EN

I would like to start my intervention by recalling a fundamental principle of EU action: violent extremism and terrorism should be addressed in all its forms, be it right wing, left wing, religious or otherwise, and we should do everything in our power to prevent it. The Directive on combating terrorism, which the Council and the European Parliament updated together in 2017, is the cornerstone of our response to terrorism and does not distinguish between ideologies.  Combating all forms of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalisation is a fundamental part of providing security for our citizens. During our Presidency, we will give attention to both new forms of violent extremism and terrorism, as well as the evolvement within existing violent threat environments, and at the same time not forget that the threats of yesterday. When it comes to far—right movements and their destabilising effect there is a worrying and growing trend in many EU Member States that we cannot ignore – ranging from anti-Semitic, anti—LGBTI, anti-Muslim and anti—immigrant to eco—fascist sentiments. Their aim is to create political tension and social chaos and ultimately undermine our democratic systems.  Our absolute rejection of such movements requires not only strong and swift action, but also a united voice from national and EU institutions. This is why, already in 2019, the Council agreed on the following four joint work strands against violent right—wing extremism and terrorism: one, creating a better understanding and extent of the problem in Europe; two, developing and sharing best practices against extra extremist; three, tackling the spread of unlawful right—wing extremist content online; and four, cross-border cooperation.  It is our intention during the Swedish Presidency not only to take stock of the implementation of these four strands, but to go further and to look at whether further measures might be needed.  I would highlight in particular the use of the internet for spreading extremist ideologies, a trend that has grown exponentially with the COVID—19 pandemic and now in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. These are very often very fluid, fast—evolving movements, and the digital space remains a considerable breeding ground for radicalisation and space for recruitment. The origin, financing and impact of such movements is difficult to assess. However, we cannot ignore their potential and that is why we need more cooperation among our law—enforcement and intelligence communities.  I would also wish to highlight the rising transnational nature of the extremist right—wing threat that we have witnessed in the past couple of years. New transnational narratives such as the Great Replacement or white genocide transcend national boundaries and have led to strong international networks. Cracking down on those networks requires more regular exchange with like—minded partners.  In particular, I should mention the role of EU agencies such as Europol to ensure that the EU is a part of international investigations against extremist networks. Indeed, violent right—wing extremism is not just a threat within the EU, but worldwide as the shocking events in Brazil only a couple of weeks ago have demonstrated. Widespread international condemnation of those events has been a positive sign that the international community is paying attention.  We must now turn words into action, starting with our Member States. The EU has taken some decisive actions in this field and has set itself as an example of the international community in addressing violent extremism. I would recall in particular the Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online, which came into effect last year, or the Digital Services Act, which will provide a general framework for regulation of harmful and unlawful expression on the internet.  The use of violence language to incite extremist and anti-democratic behaviour must be met with zero tolerance by democratic institutions, while of course respecting the principle of freedom of speech and of expression. Much more still needs to be done, as was stated at the beginning. We will focus on violent right—wing extremism and will invite Member States to share their experiences and strategies. Among other things, we will take into account of how to arrive at a working definition of violent right—wing extremism and establish a framework with the Commission and share with the Member States on how it is used or could be used. We very much expect this Parliament to be part of this discussion. In addition, we will organise a conference in Stockholm on how to prevent radicalisation.