Innocent people across the European Union (EU) will continue to suffer and die in terror attacks “for years to come”, the EU’s Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship has said.
“We cannot contemplate more victims in our cities, but we know that it is a reality we will probably have to face for years to come,” said Dimitris Avramopoulos, confessing the poor state of the bloc’s security, but without mentioning migration.
Giving a speech on Thursday, the former Mayor of Athens pledged £104 million (€120 million) this year to help EU cities stem the wave of terror attacks that have struck the continent in recent years.
London mayor Sadiq Khan was represented at the speech, along with the mayors of Brussels, Manchester, Nice, Oslo, Marseille, Berlin, Barcelona, and New York.
Addressing them, Mr. Avramopoulos said the EU would be guiding the mayors on how to keep their citizens safe. He said:
“We are developing guidance material to help you: strengthen the physical protection of buildings; enhance the protection of specific events, like major sports occasions, and places, like airports; reinforce the design and planning of public spaces in order to make them more secure; expand the use of reliable detection methods, including cutting-edge detection technologies, but also the old-fashioned police dog.”
He also spoke about the EU’s work to counter “radicalisation” and censor the Internet, as they believe this will help fight terror. He did not, however, mention immigration.
“For a number of years now, our Radicalisation Awareness Network has been working with experts in your cities to address radicalisation and its root causes,” he said.
Continuing: “Since 2015, when I convened the EU Internet Forum, we have been working with internet companies, to make sure that terrorist propaganda is quickly removed but also that alternative narratives are produced by civil society.
“Both online and offline, this work will now be stepped up,” he added.