Communication: Supporting the prevention of radicalisation leading to violent extremism

The recent terrorist attacks in Europe once again underlined the urgent need to tackle the radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism. The majority of the terrorist suspects implicated in those attacks were European citizens, born and raised in Member States, who were radicalised and turned against their fellow citizens to commit atrocities. The prevention of radicalisation is a key part of the fight against terrorism, as was highlighted in the European Agenda on Security.

The design and implementation of measures countering radicalisation takes place mainly on the ground, at local but also regional or national level, and falls primarily within the competence of the Member States. Local actors are usually best placed to prevent and detect radicalisation both in the short-term and the long-term. At the same time, the EU has a supporting role to play not least because the similar nature of the challenges faced by Member States, and the scale and interconnected nature of the problem, which mean that cooperation, networking, funding and exchange of good practices at Union level also have a role to play.

The EU has been supporting Member States' work in this area for over a decade. In 2005, the EU counter-terrorism strategy identified prevention as one of the four pillars of its actions. The Commission adopted a specific Communication in 2014 identifying priorities for further actions. The European Agenda on Security of April 2015 put the prevention of violent radicalisation in a broader policy context. Following the 12 February 2015 European Council's call and those of the European Parliament, the Foreign Affairs Council of 9 February 2015 and the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 20 November 2015 and 24 March 2016, the Commission proposed further concrete actions in its 20 April 2016 Communication to further support the effectiveness of Member States' national policies to tackle radicalisation through improved EU coordination structures, the use of EU wide networks, better deployment of funds and European scale projects.

Violent radicalisation is not a new phenomenon; however, its most recent manifestations, its scale, as well as the use of new communication tools present new challenges that call for an approach addressing both the immediate security implications of radicalisation as well as the root causes, bringing together all relevant actors across society. This Communication addresses the EU's contribution to support Member States in preventing radicalisation leading to violent extremism in the form of terrorism. This multifaceted and complex challenge can only be met through a combination of actions across several policy areas and bringing together competent authorities, and societal and community actors at all levels – local, regional, national and European.

This Communication focuses on how work at EU level can support Member States in meeting this challenge in seven specific areas: (i) supporting research, evidence building, monitoring and networking; (ii) countering terrorist propaganda and hate speech online; (iii) addressing radicalisation in prisons; (iv) promoting inclusive education and EU common values; (v) promoting an inclusive, open and resilient society and reaching out to young people; (vi) the security dimension of addressing radicalisation and; (vii) the international dimension.

ESO: Background information: Stronger EU action to better tackle violent radicalisation leading to terrorism http://www.europeansources.info/record/stronger-eu-action-to-better-tackle-violent-radicalisation-leading-to-terrorism/

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