Laurent Gillieron / EPA
Europol warned that the level of terrorist threat and violent extremism on EU territory is currently considered high, due to the war in the Middle East, warning that the risk of cyberattacks is also expected to increase.
A Europol spokesperson told Lusa this Friday that the war in the Middle East “has immediate repercussions on serious and organized crime and on terrorism in the European Union”.
“The level of terrorist threat and violent extremism on EU territory is considered high. This may manifest itself through internal radicalization by isolated individuals or small self-organized cells”, says the spokesperson for the EU Agency for Police Cooperation, in a written response sent to the agency.
Europol warns that “the rapid spread online of polarizing content can accelerate radicalization processes in the short term” among members of diasporas currently residing on European soil.
“Allied groups (proxies) of Iran may also engage in destabilizing activities in the EU”, states Europol, referring, in particular, to the so-called “Iran’s Axis of Resistance”made up of groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas or the Huthis, or the “criminal networks operating under the direction of Iranian security institutions”.
“Your operations may include terrorist attacks, intimidation campaigns and terrorist financing, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation or fraud schemes online”, states the agency.
In addition to the threat of terrorism, Europol also states that “the risk of cyberattacks targeting Western infrastructure and companies It may also increase if the conflict continues.”
“Criminal and terrorist networks will take advantage of the more intense information context to develop fraud and disinformation using artificial intelligence. Most likely targets in the EU include conflict-linked locations such as diplomatic installations, vulnerable targets, or public or critical infrastructure”, indica.
The agency says, however, that so far “there is no direct impact on an increase in immigrant trafficking.”
This Tuesday, at a press conference in Brussels, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Magnus Brunnerwas asked how the EU intends to respond to a possible increase in terrorist threats on the continent, and replied that the European Commission’s first priority is to guarantee the security of its citizens.
“We are doing several things, such as ensuring robust border controls, which were recently reinforced with our Schengen information system, a common EU database in which member states can create alerts for cases related to terrorism”, he said.
The European Commissioner also indicated that the EU’s new entry and exit system, which has been gradually implemented since October and is expected to be fully operational in April, is also yielding results.
“It has already allowed us to detain 500 people considered a threat to the EU. Therefore, I think we are on the right path, but, of course, remaining vigilant is always important”, he said.
