Among the terrorists who perpetrated the Brussels attacks were individuals known to the Turkish authorities and subject to an international warrant issued in France following the November attacks. Although it is impossible to know the details, we must question why this didn’t alert the Belgian security services to this terrorist nest in its capital.
Clearly, Europe has in-built inefficiencies within its existing structure. The bureaucracy in Belgium, together with communication barriers, limit the Belgian government’s ability to protect its citizens. Where some bilateral security cooperation agreements work smoothly (take USA/UK as an example), as soon as information whirls within European bureaucracy, it seems to lose direction and relevant authorities do not act.
Brussels, as the capital of Europe, is both a cause and the symptom of the systems that are in place across the continent. It many ways it can be considered a cause, as it was originally chosen as a neutral, non-competitive base for centralised Europe. The symptom of this is that the comfortable lifestyle and accessibility of the metropolis has led to slow-paced decision making. This has meant the European leadership and central services always appear a stride behind those who seek to undermine them.
Europe is suddenly in the midst of the two biggest challenges of its recent history: terrorism and mass immigration. For it to remain successful, the European Union must reinvent itself and leverage its member states in at least three areas: security; immigration; and integration of refugees and crisis decision making.
But leaders have to be realistic. We have learned from bitter experience that a “one size fits all” approach does not work. Europe today is structured around three distinct circles. The outer circle is comprised of the member states of the Council of Europe, which amounts to no more than an assembly of countries nominally ascribing to common principles and values, not unlike the UN.
The middle circle is defined by the countries which belong to the EU but did not join the Eurozone, and have consequently kept their borders closed to the Schengen Area. Their commitment to a united Europe is limited and prone to reconsideration, as the referendum in the UK on June 23 proves.
The inner circle of Europe is defined by the eurozone and the Schengen Area. The countries are totally reliant on each other (particularly the relationship between France and Germany) and they must change to secure their future. They need to create an anti-terrorist task force which will be accountable to the European Commission and coordinate the war against Islamic terror. A similar taskforce will have to protect its outer borders and rein in the waves of millions of immigrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia flooding Europe and threatening the future of the European continent.
This inner circle will have to create both the effective leadership and decision making mechanisms which will transform it into a formidable force preserving the values of the European continent as we know them today.
Europe in 2016 can be likened to the 19th century United States of America, which lacked a central army and government, rendering it totally ineffective and vulnerable to the forces threatening its fledgling independence. Only the creation of a federal army and a unified, legitimate presidency in the Capital ensured the construction and development of the USA as we know it now.
As the events of the past two years – the euro crisis in Greece, terrorism in France and Belgium, and the refugee crisis in Germany and its neighbouring countries – have shown, the inner circle of Europe is often pulled down by the weakest link in its membership. Allowing the inner circle nations to centralise their key systems means Europe can be more robust in the way it deals with crises.
If the status quo does not change radically then we are in real danger of allowing the EU to become a failed experiment, confined to the annals of history. We simply cannot tolerate further examples of fellow members of the Schengen Area being ignored, without border control this leaves us all vulnerable. There is no time for debate. The situation is urgent and this is the only way that the French and the German governments can step up their own security, the security of the smaller member states, and ultimately guarantee Europe’s future.