EU Commissioner for Migration and Internal Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos on Tuesday stressed the need for a comprehensive approach – as the one promoted in the European Agenda for Security – to deal with terrorism and extremism while speaking at the High Level Ministerial Meeting on Radicalization held in Brussels.

Mr. Avramopoulos underlined that terrorism in Europe is ignited by extremist ideologies, noting that the situation has changed during the recent years, as “the connection between radicalization and extremist violence is obvious in Europe”.

According to Avramopoulos, terrorist groups, such as ISIL, become more and more efficient in their propaganda and in the attraction of new members, something that, as he stressed, highlights the urgent need to deal with the threat.

The creation of a European reference point of illegal content (EU Internet Referral Unit) inside Europol is expected to play an important role in dealing with and preventing terror phenomena.

The mission of this unit, according to Mr. Avramopoulos, will be to identify terrorist material on the Internet and to ensure their rapid removal. Also, the Radicalisation Awareness Network – RAN is enhanced by creating a new Centre of Excellence.