Amid rising terrorist attacks in Europe, French Member of European Parliament (MEP) Nicolas Bay asked the European Union (EU) to “showering” Pakistan and Turkey with subsidies and customs facilities
French MEP Nicolas Bay’s remarks came during the European Parliamentary plenary of November 11, 2020. “MEP Bay’s comments were made in the context of a debate on the ‘fight against terrorism, freedom of expression and education’”, a press statement read.
Speaking to the European Commissioner Ylva Johansson responsible for Home Affairs, Bay was critical of the support being given by the European Commission to the countries of concern. “You are showering countries like Pakistan and Turkey with subsidies and customs facilities. We want to sanction them!”, he said.
Linking terrorism threats to migration, MEP Bay gave the stark warning that the latest terrorist attacks in Paris had all been committed by migrants arriving in Europe.
“The last 3 attacks in France were perpetrated by people of immigrant backgrounds: It was a Pakistani who attacked journalists in Paris; it was a Chechen who slit the throat of a teacher in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine; it was a Tunisian, freshly arrived via Lampedusa, who murdered 3 people in a church in Nice,” he said.
Highlighting that over the last years terrorist attacks had taken place across Europe in Vienna Madrid, London, Paris, Nice, Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam, Toulouse, Stockholm and St Petersburg, the parliamentarian recognized that “No victim should be forgotten!”
Bay pointed out that since the Madrid attacks in 2004, 450 people had been killed by Islamist terrorists in Europe and that Europe was losing its identity. “They attack us for who we are, not what we do” he stated. “We cannot fight this battle if we refuse to name the enemy.”
MEP Bay singled out both Turkey and Pakistan as countries of concern during his intervention.
“Erdogan is also moving forward because the European Union does not dare to act, he is waging war on Armenia, and in Libya by deploying jihadists from the ranks of Da’esh, he is threatening our continent with migratory subversion, he is converting the Basilica of Saint Sophie into a mosque,” he said.
He further critiqued the Commission for its financing of Islamist organizations stating that €5.6 million had been given towards Muslim Brotherhood networks.
“In total, over the last 5 years, the European Union has paid 36.5 million euros directly to Islamist organizations or projects in which they were involved,” he said.
The debate comes in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attacks that took place in France and Austria. President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, prior to the debate had opened the European Parliament stating that it was “a shared responsibility to fight all types of extremism”.
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