Written by Clare Ferguson,
Security and the fight against terrorism have been headline news for many months now, with terrorist attacks on European soil bringing security policy to the forefront of EU citizens’ minds. A recent Eurobarometer survey looked at the perceptions and expectations of Europeans regarding EU action on security and defence matters, including combating terrorism. EPRS has identified the gaps between citizens’ expectations in this field and the potential for increased EU intervention to work alongside Member States to protect Europeans.
Security and defence policy

Decisions on security and defence policy are generally a Member State matter, taken behind closed doors. Nevertheless, almost two thirds of EU citizens would like to see greater EU intervention in this policy area. Although the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) allocates the role of regional security provider to the EU, Member States are reluctant to use the mechanisms provided for in the Treaty of Lisbon, despite their potential positive impact on EU security. Financial support for EU action could also be more flexible.
The fight against terrorism

Perception of the international, and indeed national, response to terrorism and radicalisation drives much of the current EU political discourse. European citizens demonstrate strong expectations for EU action in the fight against terrorism. As with security and defence, EU Member States hold the primary role in this policy area. However, there is scope for increased EU involvement within the current legal framework, and financing for counter-terrorism measures is increasing.
Read the complete briefing on:
- Public expectations and EU policies – Security and defence policy
- Public expectations and EU policies – Fight against terrorism
See other policy areas covered with this Eurobarometer.
EUROPE IN THE DIVAN
When coming to our ears unfortunate news of a new crime or attack anywhere in Europe or the world, all we ask for the causes of what happened, what went wrong or was not made to make such a thing happen. As always, these are also days of pulpit and regrets, condemnations of salon and reproaches table, big speeches and statements (Je sui Paris, Je sui Bruxelles, je sui Nize, We are Orlando,….Ich have Munich…), new toast to Sun and old siren`s singing that nothing explaining or resolving, much less repair or prevent; in old saying: dead donkey barley to the tail.
The question remains to know the cause of what is now the great problem of Europe and the world; insecurity, terrorism, corruption and the crisis of identity and values. There is no effect without cause or causes without effects; in other words of those powders out these mud although we deny them, and this as any social or human problem is sufficiently complex to be treated with knowledge of cause and intelligence expert (episteme), not from pundits and opinadores of showbiz and show (doxoforos). Much I fear however that for this is necessary dispense with of ideologies, beliefs, interests and moralizing of it politically correct (of what the journalists are their Centurions). But them doxofors of the opinion are also responsible of such disorientation by it own inability to understand less still advise on Affairs that les overflow.
It is clear that long ago something does not work, and what we see today as a single accident is the result of a failure, exponent of an erratic and past process. The revolutionary ideology of the LIBERTE, FRATERNITE, EGALITE always miss you SÉCURITÉ, RÉALITÉ and IDENTITÉ, since freedom without identity does not produce but disintegration, disorientation and often decline. We already know that reality defends evil but has its own laws that only experts knows and understand; the reality is displaciente and stubborn, traveling on roads other than ideologies, religeons, beliefs and dreams, and when it appear already is too late, as always.
As any body alive, them societies need of cohesion stability identity and balance, true tissue connective that avoid the destructuring the disease and the decline. Even more retrograde society, (even in a town of demons) tries to preserve their identity, their culture and values as something natural, and essential to protecting this common good, its stability, its integrity, its own health and progress, and not other strange reasons or convenience. A warning: do not act accordingly to this principle does not prevent others to do so by one.
Them bodies social as them bodies physical u organic have their own physical and chemical, their own laws natural by which is govern and lead, regardless of them laws legal or moral that is accompanying, what makes recommended know them (the ignorance of these not exempts of its compliance) before make Alchemy or engineering social of design. And between the elements inherent to these bodies social this the identity ethics and cultural that not is identity of race (racism), nor of sex, or of gender (sexism), nor of class (classism) but identity ethics, cultural and of values. Even the staunchest defenders of equality and freedom which make denial of this incontrovertible fact behave and operate under the same basic and universal principle, establishing relationship and link with whom most identified resemble them, and rejecting those different or more away from their ideology and beliefs whether religious, political or convenience. Nobody accepts or rejects, loves or hates anyone by their race, their sex, by their religion or their gender, but by their human condition and ethical value, not by its appearance, but for their behavior.
All group or social body need connective tissue that hold them together, and can follow two different and antagonistic processes, the identification that brings together and executed (fusion of identity), and de-identification that scatters and destructuring to break it (fission of identity); both the criminal or corrupt conduct and the criminal and terrorist respond to this latter process. The reality social and culture European as all reality is manifest different to which ideologues, poets, moralists and social alchemists devised imagined and made believe of form generalized, by that of that prefer the error shared to the uncertainty.
Them calls societies Western democratic and developed, societies of the welfare, of amalgam cultural and disintegration social, embraced to the religion revolutionary that forget the Réalité it sécurité and the identité, are little balanced safe and efficient, of low stability and difficult governance. Belgium, France, Germany… like the rest of the countries Western and Europeans are still sitting on the couch psychoanalyzing of their complexes of guilt about the evils of the world, but meanwhile are losing the battle of safety, identity, and culture for the sake of a stale ideology/religion and its dogmas encouraged by ideologues, poets, priests, prophets, singers and alchemists fans with aspiration to genius even mystics and priestesses of new oracles of universal compassion that nothing know the reality and nature of these things; in this way, the only thing that unites Europe allready is islam (and possibly football) not their culture or history. And it is that a union based only on economic interests or market and not in ethical and cultural identity values, last shortly.
A company amalgamated and unstructured, with the unique administrative identity of surface show and t-shirt leaves the way open other morally stronger and religadas that do not come to integrate but to deal with it. No matter already causes or policies of equality or integration that applies in the fait accompli because these same companies will soon be a minority who will have to adapt and integrate that came to stay and not the contrary. Because the social reality as the nature of things escapes any attempt at mediocre possess it and handle it at the whim of ideologies, moralizing, or interests; Neither responds to morally desirable or politically correct, which is not always accepted or respected; in most cases this leads to misperceptions fallacious judgments and equivocal decisions of worse consequences than it was to give remedy. Nothing new; You can fool men but not the reality.
One more time the reality of them made reveals the difficulty of integrating differents cultures and mentalities, integration more desired that real, not by lack of will or efforts or resources that not is have employee. Them last events of violence and attacks terrorist in the breast of countries European put of relief a time more the erroneous conception of the problem and the failed political of integration without limits, encouraged by visionary, alchemists and false prophets, of ideology ideological, religious or media (Alliance of civilizations) that nothing know of it chemical social and its nature. Today, we know that violence such as the integration are not solved with laws or sandblasting million, but with education and work principles and values-based ethical and cultural common and solid that avoid the dislocation, disintegration and sociological amalgamation, with connective tissue and less adipose tissue.
The question is still science or religion, imagination or reality, ideology or knowledge, doxa or episteme; Or ideology or religion and economy include neither explain nor solve the complex nature of the human thing, and certain speech political, religious or media constitute more an obstacle and a problem. Not are sermons of pulpit or demagoguery political, nor arenga media, even reasons economic or of market but simple question of identity based on the ethics of it reason more critical and the knowledge technical-scientific (episteme).
Already Nietzsche said: “whenever a jurist is dedicated to science abused the law and whenever a scientist dedicated to the policy after he closes the door of the laboratory.
In the words of Klemperer, also in democracy is generated frequently erratic language and a complacent discourse that exempts us from thinking and living consistently and provides us with that sweet and deceptive security that provides a shared dogma.
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