'Violent radicalization must be fought with education and culture' - Mizzi

Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi (S&D) is convinced that the European Union is facing a serious challenge with the phenomenon of 'home-grown' radicalisation. She is of the opinion that growing radicalisation and the increasing number of European terrorists and 'foreign fighters' especially among certain marginalised groups is a serious threat to our internal security and to our society and needs immediate attention.

"The fact that all terrorists in the recent attacks were European citizens painfully demonstrated once again the immediate security threat deriving from radicalisation and recruitment of EU citizens by terrorist organisations. We need to better understand this new phenomenon and to quickly identify sustainable solutions that strengthen social inclusion of young people and prevent violent radicalisation starting with adjusting policies in the area of education and culture," said Mizzi.

Mizzi attended the first Inter-parliamentary Committee meeting on the issue of Youth and Education organised by the Committee on Culture and Education together with Members of National Parliaments and Chambers. In light of the recent terrorist attacks, the main focus of the inter-parliamentary meeting was tackling the problem of radicalisation through education and culture.

Mizzi commented that the economic crisis hit young people particularly hard. Skyrocketing unemployment rates among young people reaching up to 40% in some Member States alienated some disadvantaged youth of our society. Without opportunities and job, with idle time on their hands, young people are more vulnerable and prone to be attracted to the perceived excitement of recruitment by terrorist organizations," said Mizzi.

Mizzi believes that Europe needs to address social inequalities and social aspects that continue to stand in the way of opportunities of younger generations. Europe and its Member States need to improve intercultural and interreligious dialogue and active involvement of young people in the social lives of our communities.

"The educational system is too formal, concentrated mainly on exams and reaching targets. Although this is important, equally important is to go beyond the classroom and to introduce alternative teaching methods and a new school environment that helps young people obtain basic life skills and competences .This is necessary for their personal development, future employment and active EU citizenship. We have to ensure that our youth, irrespective of race or religion, is engaged in study or training or in gainful

Employment.  The devil finds work for idle hands is proving to be true at the expense of security and the peace of mind of our citizens.  We have to react with urgency," Mizzi said.