SEDE I Fernando Reinares
- a specialist in terrorism - says that combating terrorism is necessary in order to protect human rights. However also acknowledges that state initiatives put in place to deal with terrorism may also damage these rights, even when these measures are formulated by elected authorities and implemented in the right context. Bringing the example of ethnonationalist terrorism done by ETA, he points out that terrorism is a massive threat for civil liberties and fundamental human rights that need to be provided by authorities and protected by proper law enforcement.
Bernard Cazeneuve
- the country’s interior minister- said the European Union had made progress in joint action to combat terrorism since the Paris and Brussels attacks, mostly due to the “French pressure”. In his opinion creating modern legal framework, increasing use of the Schengen Information System (SIS) and improved coordination on combating propaganda and the recruitment of terrorists on the Internet are the keys to fighting terrorism.
Rob Wainwright
- the Europol Executive Director - warns the society about the power of terrorism. “We face the highest terrorist threat we have faced in Europe since the days of 9/11”. He mostly focuses on jihadist terrorism, especially after attacks in Paris or Brussels, highlighting the fact that this type of terrorism is international and needs an international answer from cross-border law enforcement. Stressing the fact that 5,000 Europeans who have been radicalized by [ISIS] and have travelled to Syria and Iraq and engaged in conflict experience, Wainwright is concerned about ISIS expressed desire for the spectacular.