TIRANA, Feb.4 – The Albanian Institute for International Studies and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Albania organized on Thursday the first session of a series of Foreign Policy Forums for 2016. Keynote speaker to this event was the Dutch Ambassador in Albania, Her Excellency Mrs. Dewi van de Weerd whose country holds the block’s rotating presidency for the first six months of 2016. The topic of the forum was ” Discussing the new security environment in Europe: challenges and response from the Dutch perspective.”
Executive Director of AIIS, Albert Rakipi opened the forum highlighting the need to debate security issues in Europe, not just in the EU but also from the perspective of aspiring countries such as Albania in order to fully grasp their impact. Ambassador van de Weerd during her speech presented and elaborated on the main priorities of the Dutch Presidency of the EU. Among the highest priorities were tackling the radical terrorist threat and the migration crisis. The Dutch ambassador argued that Europe is facing a complex and global phenomenon such as terrorism.
She reiterated that in order to cope with this new breed of terrorism that behaves like a state in imposing taxes, bearing a flag and having its own currency, the EU should provide a coordinated and complex response. Ambassador Dewi van de Weerd pointed out that the terrorists pose a serious threat to European values and way of life and that military intervention is not the only possible solution. She emphasized that a new policy perspective is needed which looks at the whole cycle of development of this phenomenon.
Therefore, a complex and appropriate response includes training, domestic cooperation with religious leaders, teachers and families in order to anticipate and prevent the radicalisation of the youth. At the basis of this response is respect of human rights and the rule of law. The Dutch Ambassador expressed her firm belief that Europe is able to find a balance between freedom and security. She praised the support and Dutch ambassador at AIIS European Forum the cooperation of Albania in the Global Coalition on Terrorism as the recent participation of the Western Balkans in the Hague Plan of Action.
The current migration crisis in Europe was the second important issue presented by the Dutch ambassador. She argued that a clear distinction should be made between terrorists and refugees. Refugees should not be confused with terrorists since they are victims of the violence spread by the same terrorists the international community is fighting. According to the Dutch diplomat, another distinction should also be made between refugees and economic migrants, the latter adding an additional strain to an EU migration system already under pressure.
While highlighting the obligation of the EU to provide a temporary safe haven to the refugees, she reiterated the need for an effective return policy for economic migrants, which will help alleviate pressure on EU countries which are struggling to cope with increasing numbers of refugees. She brought before the audience the case of Albanian immigrants in the Netherlands whose numbers saw an increase in the past year, all of which are going to be repatriated as a result of a fruitful cooperation with Albanian authorities.
She described the migrant crisis as a stress test for the European values such as freedom, equality and pluralism, but there’s also a chance Europe will emerge stronger from this crisis for as long as solidarity and trust are shown. At the end of her speech the audience had the chance to discuss with the Dutch ambassador about the new challenges the EU faces, the tools provided to address terrorism and the migration crisis, the solidarity shown by the member states, the risk of collapse of the Schengen agreement, as well as effective control of borders.
AIIS Deputy Director Alba Cela asked Ambassador van de Weerd regarding EU commitment to save the Schengen agreement and the ambassador reconfirmed that the EU is working hard to preserve freedom of movement as one of the greatest achievements of the European Union. The Dutch Presidency of the EU shall be characterized as the Dutch top diplomat described it as the Dutch way of doing things: pragmatic, outspoken and efficient.
