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EP members urges EU states not to equate refugees with terrorists

Xinhua, November 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Members of the European Parliament (MEP) on Wednesday urged EU countries not to equate refugees with terrorists but to boost security by stepping up cooperation instead.

"'Political grandstanding that equates refugees with terrorists only foments the hatred and disillusion that inspires those who join terrorist groups," argued many MEPs in Wednesday's debate in Strasbourg.

Rather than allow Europe's freedoms and tolerance to be eroded, EU countries must strive to strengthen security, by stepping up intelligence cooperation and data-sharing, and investing in the skills and technology needed to fight terrorism, the MEPs urged in a statement.

"I don't think we should equate refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants on the one hand with terrorists on the other ... Those who carried out these attacks in Paris are the same people who are forcing the unhappy, the unlucky of this planet, to flee," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said during the debate.

Meanwhile, a non-binding resolution on preventing radicalization and recruitment of EU citizens by terrorist organisations on Wednesday was adopted by 548 votes to 110, with 36 abstentions.

The resolution sets out concrete proposals for a comprehensive strategy to tackle extremism, to be applied in particular in prisons, online and through education and social inclusion. Endit