By DEWI VAN DE WEERD
Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
For the Kingdom of the Netherlands, this new year started with a great responsibility – the rotating EU presidency for the next six months. I am really honoured to have the opportunity to speak with you about our Presidency and some specific challenges that we are facing: Migration, Radicalization, and Rising Terrorism.This Presidency comes at a challenging time. The European Union is being severely put to the test. We face a huge influx of people who have fled war and oppression, and terrorists are attacking our communities.
There are no easy answers or quick fixes for these problems. The Netherlands hopes that we can help the EU to come to common solutions. We see our role as helping build compromises between the 28 member states. The Dutch are pragmatic: we want to look for solutions in a constructive manner. We are also realistic: we are aware that the EU is under a lot of strain at this moment. We need to come up with joint solutions, which also involve the candidate member states.
Dutch focus during our EU presidency
We have identified three principles for our EU Presidency: a focus on innovation, transparency and making a connection with citizens. It was in this spirit that we organised a successful Diplohack, a hackathon for diplomats, civil society and journalists last weekend. It was really inspiring and it is great to see some of the participants here today. In order to tackle the challenges that we face, during the Dutch presidency we will focus on 4 policy priorities:
1. A comprehensive approach to migration and international security
2. Europe as an innovator and job creator
3. Solid finances and a sound euro
4. A future oriented climate and energy policy
Today I would like to discuss our first priority: migration and international security.
Migration and refugees
Over the past five years, we have seen fundamental changes in the EU’s immediate vicinity. We have to deal with a ring of instability around Europe. We need to address root causes of conflict and migration in order to decrease the influx of people into Europe who are fleeing war and oppression. At the same time we need a strong, common border and asylum policy within the EU. The migration and refugee crisis also shows that close cooperation with the candidate member countries is needed, especially concerning the Western Balkans route.
Key priorities are:
• Strengthening of our external borders, addressing the root causes, enhance reception of refugees in the region and making sure there is enough humanitarian assistance.
• Work on an EU program for resettlement, also with Turkey.
• Solidarity is needed in terms of relocation of asylum seekers.
• Key concept: we need to start doing what we agreed.
On February 4 and 5 Ministers of Foreign Affairs are meeting in Amsterdam, Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati also pariticpates.Later this month Ministers of Justice will meet again, also with participation from the candidate member states. We see that currently the European migration system is under pressure. Not only is there a large amount of refugees fleeing from war, who we want to be able to accommodate and provide with a temporary safe haven. Also, the number of economic migrants, fortune seekers, is very high.
Many countries in the EU are struggling with that situation. In order to have enough capacity to look after the real refugees, we need to curb economic migration by people that do not have a clear destination.It means we need to work on an effective return policy for those that do not qualify as refugees.
Let me, for example, give you some insight in the Dutch situation with regard to Albanian migrants. Last year we had more than ten times as many migrants from Albania coming to the Netherlandsas in 2014. They were more than 1000 in total, asking for asylum. Albania as a candidate member state and safe country of origin is of course not a country from which asylum is needed. These people are economic migrants. None of them receives asylum and they are all sent back. The cooperation with the Albanian authorities is actually going very well.
But what is important is preventing them from going in the first place. It is a waste of time and money, for themselves and for the responsible institutions, that are currently under high strain. So investing in creating possibilities for people to work and live in Albania is crucial. We are all aware that dealing with the influx of asylum seekers and migrants is not easy. Opinions differ on the right way to approach it. The refugee crisis hits us where we most feel it. Although most of our citizens react with solidarity, there are also people who are worried.
We have to deal with all these different opinions. We need sustainable solutions and it is important to show solidarity and trust. The European Union has proven its value in good weather, we need to do the same now in bad weather conditions. There is no alternative but to take action if we want to preserve this EU which we have spent so many years to build together. It means we have to stay close to the core values of the Union.
Freedom, equality and pluralism are the sources of our strength. This migration crisis is a stress test for our values, but it can also be an opportunity for the future strengthening of Europe. Migration is keeping us occupied these days. But now let’s move on to the other main topic of this lecture. The challenges of radicalization and terrorism we are facing.
Countering Terrorism
Terrorism today is a multi-headed monster. Terrorists are ruthless and resourceful. It is a global phenomenon: next to ISIL we have al Qa’ida, Boko Haram, al Shabaab, and many more. The impact of these groups is not limited to the conflict zones in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. We feel the impact also here in the EU and in the Western Balkans. We have all been shocked by attacks such as those recently in Istanbul, Paris and Beirut. And a year ago Charlie Hebdo in Paris was a target.
Having lived there for four years, I felt really hurt by it. Terrorists attempt to spread fear and sow division.The threat of radicalization and terrorism is one of the most unsettling challenges of our time. To effectively counter terrorism, it is important that we work together and share information better, both within EU member states and with other countries. We need to know who are the people in our countries, improve our information on foreign fighters, anticipate the possibility of radicalism in our own societies and be more successful in preventing it. We really need to deal with the fact that our internal and external security are inextricably linked.
My minister of Foreign Affairs, Bert Koenders, hosted a Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) on Foreign Terrorist Fighters early January. It was one of the first things he did during our EU presidency. This was a coalition building event. 53 countries took part, as well as 4 international organizations. Countries as diverse as Nigeria, Marocco, the US and Belgium took part. The Western Balkans participated. Albania was there as well, deputy-minister of Foreign Affairs Odeta Barbullushi took partand shared insights on the Albanian policy.I want to share with you today some of the thoughts andstrategies to fight radicalization and terrorism that minister Koenders presented there. They have culminated in a The Hague Plan of Action.
What is terrorism today
• Terrorism 2.0: it adapts like a virus and becomes more resilient.
•There are terrorists who aim to be a state. Using state symbols like flags and passports to attract recruits and to sustain their power. They sell oil, collect taxes, exploit its own population, confiscate land, provide health care, impose fines and operate a budget cycle.
• This new brand of terrorism is reflected in the communication technology used: the attacks in Paris were prepared in part with the help of PlayStation communication tools. Terrorists use secure apps like Telegram to recruit. They use social media to showcase their attacks and share tips about the best travel routes.
• The way they finance their attacks:plane tickets are bought online; materials are purchased with bitcoins and prepaid cards.
• The way they persuade young people to join their ranks: successful in giving some of our youngsters something we apparently cannot: a sense of purpose.
• International character: there are people from Cameroon joining the ranks of Boko Haram in Nigeria. There are British youths fighting with al Shabaab. There are Chechens, Tunisians and French nationals who have joined ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra. And they have been joined by well over 200 people from the Netherlands.
When we call these people foreign terrorist fighters, we are in fact wrong. The uncomfortable truth is that they are not foreign at all. They may be foreigners in the countries where they are going to. But in reality they come from all of our countries. They are part of our societies.
Who are the Foreign Terrorist Fighters
So if an important part of the threat comes from within our own societies, we have to ask ourselves: who are these people? Who are the people that go to Syria,take up guns and willingly join ISIL? It is a varied group, from different backgrounds and with different motives:
• It is a young man like Omar M,one of the Bataclan attackers. Born in France, he went from petty crime into terrorism.
• It is a teenage girl, blowing herself up in a marketplace in Cameroon.
• It is a Dutch soldier of 26.
• But it is also a young man who sits in front of his computer, soliciting funds from extremists for humanitarian assistance to ISIS.
The uncomfortable truth is that foreign terrorist fighters are often created at home. And we need to work together to do our best to prevent them from becoming radicalized in the first place.
What are Foreign Terrorist Fighters doing
They are aware of the weaknesses in our societies, and they exploit them. They are attacking our way of life and our freedoms, at resorts, markets, in bars and restaurants, andon public transport. They attack our freedom of expression, as happened a year ago at the offices of Charlie Hebdo.Their goal is not just to commit violence and spread fear. Their goal is to distort our structures.In the Paris attacks we saw how they exploit travel routes used by refugees to reach Europe. How they poison the debate on migration by conflating it with terrorism.
They do this on purpose, to instill fear. But refugees are not terrorists. They are fleeing the very terrorism and violence we are fighting together. We have seen terrorists exploit the open borders within Europe, and to a certain extent they are successful. Because they make us question the future of Schengen, one of our greatest European achievements.
What are we doing?
So what is the international coalition and the EU doing against this threat? It is clear that the only way to tackle the terrorist networks is to set up strong international cooperation networks. Since the threat is a hybrid one, we are taking a multitrack approach.
The preventive track: we focus on identifying and tackling the root causes of radicalization. Because in the end, prevention is always more efficient than trying to take action afterwards. Stopping the radicals of today from becoming the terrorists of tomorrow should also remain a top priority. Prevention is crucial. This is also the focus of the Albanian strategy against radicalization that was recently published. Our aim is to share best practices. I am therefore looking forward to the setting up of a regional center, as the Albanian government has announced.
The military track: many countries now have soldiers on the ground risking their lives to counter terrorism. I’m not only talking about the Anti-ISIL Coalition, but also about the Multinational Joint Task Force, which is fighting Boko Haram, and AMISOM, which is fighting al Shabaab. We’re not only fighting them with weapons; we also provide training and strategic advice to local forces.
The police track: our police forces work together to share information and monitor possible suspects. EUROPOL, based in The Hague, is setting up a European Counter Terrorism Center. European intelligence services are sharing more info. In all our countries police officers in our communities are engaging with young people at risk. And in Albania, we have a Benelux police liaison in our Embassy. He is in close contact with the Albanian authorities, but also with his EU colleagues and other police liaisons in the region.
The financial track: a new UN resolution 2253 has just been adopted that allows us to crack down even harder on terrorist financing. Freezing of assets is an example.
The policy track: for example, in the GCTF we aim to tackle the whole ‘terrorist life cycle’, from radicalization to violent extremism. This means addressing issues such as the harmful effect of ransom payments and the process of reintegrating returnees and other extremists into society.More substantive, evidence-based analyses are needed. I was impressed by the studies done by different Albanian institutions such as AIIS and IDM on radicalism in Albania last year. One of their recommendations is to engage with young people. Using teachers, police officers, religious leaders and families to ensure we are doing what we can to provide them with alternatives to the tragic and violent path of terrorism. This is very much in line with the EU’s approach. These young people need a sense of purpose, of belonging to their society. They need hope and a positive alternative.
Civil society involvement and human rights crucial
The UN SG has presented a plan of action to prevent violent extremism just a few weeks ago. The plan states that repressive governments tend to generate more violent extremists. Strengthening good governance, human rights and the rule The EU’s Challenges Tackling Migration, Radicalization and Terrorism from a Dutch perspective of law are the most important preventive measures that can be taken. In contrast with the extremists, we fight and act in clear recognition of the moral and legal borders set by the rule of law and human rights.
And we do so taking due account of the dilemmas posed by the demands for security and privacy.Finding the proper balance there is not always easy, but I’m convinced that balancing our freedoms and our security needs in the end make for stronger societies.It is clear that governments cannot defeat radicalism and terrorisms by themselves. Especially to reach the young, we need civil society. And I am thinking of a girl, she was just a college student in Chicago who moved to the US from Syria when she was a kid.
Through social media she has been helping the Syrian opposition fight their fight. And she has lost many of those friends that she was trying to help. An impressive film was made out of her story. In closing I would like to quote ourEU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Federica Mogherini. She says “Civil society has a crucial role to play in the fight against radicalization and terrorism. It is not only a key actor, but also a main driver for change in all societies, in terms of democracy, good governance, resilience, cohesion and the promotion of fundamental human rights. To defeat terror we surely need law enforcement tools, and this is something everybody is focusing on these days.
But this has to go hand in hand with deep, under-the-radar work inside societies: to secure inclusion and open space for participation and expression to all. “ In the Netherlands we work for example on increasing political participation of women. Giving them a voice in conflict situations. It is crucial that they can also be present at the table when peace talks are held. And let us not forget, freedom of expression is one of the most powerful weapons against radicalization and terrorist propaganda. To better protect citizens we need to build strong democratic institutions and a healthy democratic dialogue. And this is indeed the EU’s and the Netherlands main goal also in Albania.
