Europe wakes up to threat of terrorism, but do they have the right approach?

Austria is not alone in initiating a crackdown on terrorism. Across Europe, governments have woken up to the threat of Islamism and are working on a common draft to control radicals.
 
Since the beheading in Paris, the EU leadership has been talking tough and now they have begun to act. Europe's crackdown has begun, the endgame is to root out Islamist terrorism with an audacious goal, but one that the leadership is confident of achieving.

Part one of the plan is to regulate borders. Both France and Germany have called for tighter control. One way of doing this is the entry/exit system, replacing passports with automatic monitoring.

"I want to mention the entry-exit system or exit-entry system in the Schengen area that should be ready by 2022. This is vitally necessary to know who comes in and who leaves the Schengen area. And we also need this information about countries with whom we have visa-free travel agreements," said German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Asylum is the other big issue. During the war against ISIS, thousands of refugees sought asylum in Europe and many were granted. Half a decade later, Europe is reeling under extremism and the French President believes there is a link.

"In all our countries, we are witnessing a misuse of the right to asylum, the right of asylum is made for peace fighters, those who take a risk for their political choice in their country. And today we see more and more people asking for asylum in Europe and coming from countries that are not at war," said the French President Emmanuel Macron.

That's one part of the plan, which is to limit entry into the European Union. However, what about extremist elements who are already inside? Most countries in Europe are preparing a terror watchlist. It includes people who are at risk of radicalisation. France has at least 8,000 people on its watchlist.

The crackdown also extends to the internet. It has become fertile ground for radicalisation and the EU wants tech giants to do more.

"It is clear that the large platforms can't keep an eye on all their content at once but the moment they are given evidence that there is something on their sites that is criminal or damaging they have to react straight away and quickly," said EU Commission President, Ursula Von Der Leyen.

In other words, they want access to encrypted messages such as WhatsApp. This plan is borderline unconstitutional and it cuts at the root of privacy and freedom. So, you can expect a lot of backlash from tech giants and also ordinary EU citizens.

The European ministers are meeting on Friday with their proposals. The French president wants to suspend free movement during security alerts, and getting 27 countries to agree to these proposals will not be easy, but Europe does not have a choice. The bloc is so well integrated that the only way they can fight this threat is together.