EU must impose sanctions on Turkey, Pakistan amid rising terror attacks: French MEP

Concerned over terrorism emanating from countries like Turkey and Pakistan, French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Jordan Bardella has called for “real financial or trade sanctions” against Ankara, Islamabad, Kuwait city and Doha in order to make “European solidarity tangible”.

The calls for sanctions by Bardella comes as the rift between France and Muslim countries has widened. France in last one month has witnessed several terror attacks after Charlie Hebdo announced the republishing of controversial caricature of Prophet Muhammed and French President Emmanuel Macron refused to criticise it in early October.

Protests erupted in Muslims countries over the incident. Social media users in many Muslim countries joined calls to boycott French goods.

On October 16, a terrorist beheaded a secondary school teacher Samuel Paty who used controversial cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo in his classes. On the morning of October 30, another terrorist attack occurred when a man stabbed three people to death and wounded several others in a church in Nice.

On November 2, an Islamist terrorist went on a deadly rampage in Vienna shooting dead four people and injuring more than 20 others in the city centre before he was killed by police.

“Ongoing tragedy and terrorism continues on European soil and Europe struggles to find a common solution to the constant killings of innocent victims at the hand of the terrorists and extremists,” the European Chronicle reported.

In light of this, on 28 October 2020, French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Jordan Bardella posed a parliamentary question to the European Commission. Following his own statement “over and beyond feeble statements concerning the Turkish President’s ‘unacceptable’ comments,” MEP Bardella requested to know if the Commission is “planning to adopt any real financial or trade sanctions against countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, Kuwait and Qatar, in order to reassert our common values and make European solidarity tangible?”

Over recent months and weeks, European parliamentarians have raised increasing concerns regarding terrorism and extremism emanating from countries like Turkey and Pakistan.

The European Commission is expected to answer the questions of MEP Bardella in the coming weeks.

French Member of European Parliament (MEP) Nicolas Bay has also asked European Union (EU) to stop “showering” Ankara and Islamabad with subsidies and customs facilities and instead put sanctions against them.

“During the European Parliamentary plenary of November 11, French MEP Nicolas Bay from the Identity and Democracy Group had strong words against European aid to Pakistan and Turkey in light of threats coming from both countries. 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, Nicolas 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!”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.