Debate contributions by Verena MERTENS

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. When we talk about the security situation in Europe, we must not forget one thing: our police. It is our first line of defence – day and night – when it comes to protecting our citizens from attacks, organised crime and cyber-attacks. But in many of these debates, including here in the House, it is often forgotten. But these dangers don't disappear just because we talk less about them. Violent extremists are networked across Europe, organised fraud is on the rise, and cybercrime knows no bounds. As a former police officer, I know what it means to be on this front. That is why I am strongly committed to honoring the women and men who protect our lives. I call for a European Day of Remembrance for police officers, especially those who have lost their lives in the service. I want us to finally make politically clear: We stand at the side of those who protect us, of those who set themselves on fire for us in a shooting or attack with their own lives. Protect the protectors!

Madam President, Dear colleagues! The massive gang violence we have witnessed in Sweden for several years is alarming. Gun violence is also on the rise in other EU countries, as recently shown by the shootings in Brussels. We can only solve these challenges in a European way, because organised crime does not stop at borders. The perpetrators benefit from free movement because our law enforcement agencies are bound by borders and nation states. That is why we need to better connect law enforcement authorities in Europe – with each other, and with Europol and Eurojust and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which needs more competences. The good projects that already exist must become more, and much bigger. Because it is only with pinpricks that we cannot fight the major cancers that make our Europe sick. Law enforcement agencies need to become more efficient and finally more effective in investigations, but also in the judiciary. A digital search warrant is essential to capture the masterminds and dismantle networks. We need more access to digital data in order to be able to convict the backers. In the judiciary, we need more efficient criminal proceedings across Europe. Here we can best practice Learning from each other. Europe must remain capable of acting. Our freedom must not become a weakness. It must be our strength.

I think the support of the security authorities is right and very important. However, I find it critical that Europol should work exclusively operationally, or mainly operationally, because I think that we urgently need to further strengthen the national security authorities. We just have to go into the ground, we have to get wider, solve a lot more cases and not always focus on the big cases that Europol can handle. How do you see a solution?

I don't think we should be too quick to judge things that haven't been determined yet. As it stands today, it was more of a shooting than a terrorist attack. There are as many German mentally ill perpetrators who kill people as there are people from other countries of origin. So I wouldn't want to mix that up at this point.

Madam President, Commissioner! Linking organised crime to the smuggling of migrants is an acute threat to security and order in Europe. Smuggling networks act ruthlessly, endangering lives and undermining our rule of law. Reports show: The numbers are rising, and the perpetrators are making targeted use of legal gaps and state-of-the-art technologies. That is why we must act now. We need to bring the security agencies on an equal footing with the criminal networks. We need to strengthen the human, technical and financial resources of Europol and Frontex. Europol needs more resources to efficiently track cross-border smuggling networks. Frontex must not only be able to control the external borders, but also to take active action against smugglers. We need stronger surveillance of digital channels that these criminals use. We need more access to data and equality of arms. At the same time, we must start in countries of origin and transit in order to shut down the advertising platforms of smugglers. Only through consistent cooperation and equality of arms do we have a chance at all to protect people and defend our values.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The recruitment of children and young people shows us the weaknesses of our prevention policy and our international cooperation. I therefore demand that we not only speak, but also act. We need decisive action from the EU and the Member States. Firstly, we need a Europe-wide prevention strategy that focuses specifically on social hotspots. We need to tackle structural problems such as social exclusion and lack of prospects before criminal networks fill these gaps. And we need to effectively and sustainably integrate refugees and their children into our society. Secondly: In order to identify and prosecute perpetrators, we need better data, more resources and more effective law enforcement mechanisms across borders. Cross-border crime requires cross-border responses, including together with Europol. And thirdly: Strengthening media literacy must be a priority. Young people need to understand how to stay protected in the digital world. Europe can and must be at the forefront of a youth that grows up in freedom and security.

Madam President, Commissioner! The fight against drug-related crime urgently requires a common European response. Drug crime knows no borders and affects us all. It threatens the health of our citizens, undermines the security of our cities and strengthens criminal networks. Strengthening Europol is important to combat these networks. We also depend on the local police. As an eye and ear on site, it is of central importance. Often, local investigators have more criminal experience. Her many years of investigative experience and her specific knowledge of the local milieu are important keys to the detection of these crimes. Closer networking between local investigators from the different Member States is therefore of fundamental importance. Europol must act as a link in this respect in order to form networks and promote the exchange of information. The best example of this is the successful Sword project. We must act now, together, but with clear priority at the local level.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Organised crime is one of the biggest threats to our society today. Criminal networks exploit every weakness in our systems. The violence they use is becoming more and more brutal and frequent, often without regard for innocent victims. Fighting these networks is complex. They are constantly adapting to new circumstances and using specialized services for their criminal activities. What do we need to effectively combat organised crime? First of all, we need a common understanding of organised crime in Europe. Secondly, we need to harmonise data protection and data processing in the European Union. We then also need the willingness to share information according to uniform criteria in all Member States. To this end, Europol can and must make an important contribution. One of Europol's great strengths is to create a network between investigators and to enable better cooperation in the Member States. We need to build on that strength. I firmly believe that we cannot solve organised crime at European level alone. Rather, we need to strengthen the experienced investigators on the ground. We need to give them a toolbox of opportunities to successfully fight organised crime. We need to equip them with information and skills and to better network them. This is one of my visions for Europol to win this battle.

Yes, you are giving me the opportunity to finish my speech. Because I wanted to say that temporary border controls at internal borders, as they are currently being pushed forward in Germany, cannot be a long-term solution; This must remain an exception. But we also need to understand that something has to happen in Germany after Solingen.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! How we deal with the challenge of migration in Europe is crucial for the future of the European Union, and it is also crucial for citizens' confidence in politics. We need to make sure that society as a whole can meet the challenge of integration, and of course that will not happen overnight. It is precisely for this reason that the Asylum and Migration Pact we have adopted is the right and important sign – and we must now also implement it. It is the right sign to get better control over our borders and also to give protection to people who are persecuted in their homeland for political or religious reasons. But implementation is stalling because political forces are blocking it. And we have to implement it, we have to push ahead with implementation now, because the attack in Solingen is not an isolated case. I'll tell you: This can happen again at any time and in any place in Europe. And that's why it's about more: It is about strengthening security in public spaces by equipping the police with better resources and more opportunities for a sustainable strategy that unites Europe.