Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – The European Union is facing a “huge risk” of terrorist attacks over the Christmas period, the bloc’s home affairs chief warned.
“With the war between Israel and Hamas and the olarization it causes in our society, with the upcoming holiday season, there is a huge risk of terrorist attacks in the European Union,” Ylva Johansson said ahead of a meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Brussels.
Johansson’s assessment is based on the steep increase in extremist propaganda circulating online as well as the rising threat level in member states amid recent attacks in Belgium and France.
Johansson pledged to make an additional €30 million available to support EU member states to protect places of worship and other public spaces as part of the so-called Internal Security Fund.
She also called on all countries to implement EU measures to crack down on online hate speech and stifle the financial resources used by extremist groups.
