SHAFAQNA- Press TV: The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, has just published the 20th Security Union report. At the launch it quickly became clear that those who attempt to distort the peaceful religion of Islam still pose a major threat.
In response to my question about Riyadh’s sponsorship of extreme ideologies in EU Mosques and community groups, I was told efforts to clamp down on terrorist financing are being made but more could be done.
According to analysts, terrorism is also fueled by extreme nationalism, populism and far-right politics, all of which are on the rise in the West.
The EU commission says its agencies are working to combat populist disinformation. Also in the battle against terrorism it says progress has been made to curtail access to weapons. Efforts are also ongoing to cut out online recruitment propaganda.
Daesh is still a big problem for the 28-country bloc. More than 2,000 men, women and children affiliated with the terrorist group, and who are from the EU, are currently being detained in Syria. Also, thousands more are currently serving time in EU prisons.
The European Commission press conference on security heard that in Belgium and in France alone up to 400 radicalized prisoners are due for release within the next year.