MEMO/05
Brussels, 21 September 2005
Terrorist recruitment: a Commission’s
Communication addressing the factors contributing
to violent radicalisation
The Communication adopted by the Commission on ‘Terrorist Recruitment:
addressing the factors contributing to violent radicalisation’ constitutes the
Commission’s contribution, as requested by the Hague Program, to a strategy being
developed by the Council of the European Union on the same subject. The
document reports on the Commission’s ongoing work in the area and proposes
possible ways in which work in various fields within its competence could be
channelled more effectively into addressing the issue.
Following the attacks in Madrid, the European Council adopted a Declaration on 25
March 2004, on Combating Terrorism which highlights the need to look at the
prevention of the potential for terrorist recruitment. Clearly, the London attacks in
July this year continued to reinforce the need to address this complex problem with a
well-thought approach.
The actions and recommendations presented in the Communication are a
combination of various measures and are to be viewed as complementary to, and in
support of, current national efforts. The Commission however believes that the EU,
with its span of policies in various areas that could be used to address violent
radicalisation, is well placed to gather and spread at European level the relevant
expertise that is being acquired by the Member States in addressing this problem.
Furthermore, the measures being proposed are not to be considered as exhaustive
and in the future more measures could be proposed, particularly when research into
the problem, some of which will be financed by the Commission, progresses.
In summary, the Communication:
- describes the EU instruments that are already available in the field of broadcast
media and the internet and whose use could be enhanced to stem further the
spreading of terrorist propaganda;
- describes the education, youth engagement and European