In his opening speech at the Parliamentary Assembly’s spring part-session in Strasbourg today, Pedro Agramunt warned against the adoption of far-reaching restrictive measures and policies. “Often, after a barbaric attack, the most immediate reaction is to step up security measures at the expense of individual freedom. This can have dangerous consequences,” he said.
“We will combat terrorism and its root causes through two fundamental lines of action. Firstly, we need a strong political narrative: we must stand together and protect our freedom. Only together will we overcome the fear that terrorists create. Secondly, we must look into the root causes behind terrorism and extremism,” explained the President, pointing out that the promotion of freedoms and individual rights enabling all Europeans to live their daily lives without having their freedoms restricted by terrorist threats or conflicts was one of the priorities of his Presidency.
With regard to the migrant crisis, the President warned against divisions among EU member states with respect to responsibility sharing and the relocation and resettlement of refugees and asylum-seekers which, in his view, “create a breeding ground for populist rhetoric. We should not underestimate the risks linked to the rise of far-left and far-right nationalist and anti-immigration parties that call for their nations to turn inward.” (more...)
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President Agramunt calls for release of PACE member Nadiya Savchenko