News Analysis: How Europe to turn resolve into action on anti-terrorist strike

The bloody terrorist attacks in Paris last week marked a watershed moment, triggering political leaders to take to the street to express their resolve in fighting terrorism.

Some experts' perspectives are that the European reaction in the next stage will definitely not be as simple as the word "fight," as the death occurred due to several underlying reasons. The strike may take a long time and need caution as well as patience.

CHANGES RESHAPE EUROPE

Europe now is undergoing internal and external changes. Due to Europe's relatively loose immigration policy, immigrants gradually constituted a part in European society that cannot be ignored.

Though immigrants obtained European identity, it was still hard for immigrant groups to reach the same social and economic level as "old Europeans." As well as this, immigrants were not fully understood by native European people.

Take France as an example, "if France is to remain a multicultural country - as its authorities and citizens proclaim it to be - it will have to instill a much better understanding of Islam, and of multiculturalism in general, into the population," said visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, Marc Pierini.

Europe is not a dream place to live, due to its weak economic recovery momentum and high jobless rate after the economic crisis.

The eurozone inflation rate turned negative for the first time since October 2009, as the annual rate is expected to be minus 0.2 percent in December 2014.

The weak economy and jobless rate posed a threat to people's welfare and education. Furthermore, the extremist ideas instigated people, many of whom were of low educational backgrounds and of immigrant origins, via high-technology channels. According to European police agency Europol, since 2001, between 3,000 and 5,000 Europeans have joined jihadist ranks.

MONITOR EU EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL BORDERS

To meet the challenges, EU leaders urged to strengthen the monitoring of EU's external and internal borders.

Dr. Cui Hongjian, a scholar with China Institute of International Studies, told Xinhua that immigration policies and the degree of openness was not the same for each EU member state. As a result, the EU had no clear-cut concept of border to the external world. In this regard, member states needed to enhance coordination to face the possible external terrorist threat.

Besides, he said, inside the EU bloc, especially the Schengen area, the EU needed to be cautious regarding the movements of unlawful people while still maintaining the free flow of legal persons.

Since the attacks, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, has implored Members of European Parliament (MEPs) to accept the creation of a single, shared database of personal information on air passengers arriving in, or leaving, the EU.

The Passenger Name Record (PNR) database would include unverified information provided by passengers and collected and held in the air carriers' reservation and departure control systems for their own commercial purposes. It contains several different types of information, such as travel dates, travel itinerary, ticket information, contact details, the travel agent at which the flight was booked, means of payment used, seat number, and baggage information.

The processing of PNR data would allow law enforcement authorities to identify previously unknown suspects whose travel patterns are unusual or fit those typical of terrorists.

Reports were that the proposal to set up the database, initially tabled in 2011, is currently blocked in the European Parliament, where MEPs are concerned about the protection of individual freedoms and privacy.

Judy Dempsey, a scholar with the think tank Carnegie Europe, said at the EU level, the union should implement the measures that interior ministers defined in December 2014. In particular, the European Parliament should approve an EU no-fly list and the Passenger Name Record to hinder "jihad tourism."

According to Dempsey, the EU's border agency Frontex should revise its role and resources, for the same reason. All countries within the EU's passport-free Schengen area - indeed, all EU members - should join the Prum Convention, which aims to step-up cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism.

PREVENT SOCIAL UNITY FROM FALTERING

Experts also proposed that, considering freedom of expression may continue to clash with certain cultural or religious values. The authorities, media, and educators will have to fill this huge gap.

Pierini said the initial show of national unity after the killings was remarkable, especially on Jan. 11, when 3.7 million people marched against terrorism and for freedom of expression. But that unity may quickly come apart at the seams for party-political or social reasons, especially through the potential for widespread stigmatization of Muslims.

"France's social fabric is now under threat unless the country's leaders launch a deliberate and collective effort to protect it," Pierini said, adding that in political terms, the attacks would logically play into the hands of the right-wing parties. Endit