For the ECR Group, today’s vote on a European strategy to counter the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and related Islamist networks is an important step towards a tougher and more realistic European response to organisations seeking political influence, public funding and access to decision-makers.
The European Parliament has called for the Muslim Brotherhood and its network to be placed on the EU list of terrorist organisations. It also calls for EU funding to organisations linked to Islamist networks to be stopped, for foreign financing to be made fully transparent and for affiliated organisations to be denied privileged access to European institutions.
ECR Shadow Rapporteur Nicolas Bay said:
“For years, Europe underestimated the ability of the Muslim Brotherhood to build influence patiently through organisations that present themselves as ordinary representatives of civil society. Today, the European Parliament has finally recognised that we need to look beyond the public face of these organisations and examine the networks behind them.”
Bay added:
“Putting the Muslim Brotherhood on the EU terrorist list would be a major step, but it cannot be the end of the process. We also need to know which organisations are linked to the network, where their money comes from and how they gain access to our institutions. European authorities should no longer be naive about the way political Islam operates.”
For the ECR Group, public money must no longer reach organisations linked to Islamist networks. EU institutions need to know who ultimately benefits from funding, which organisations are connected and where additional financing comes from.
ECR Coordinator on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Assita Kanko said:
“European taxpayers should never finance organisations that work against the freedoms and democratic values Europe is supposed to protect. We need to be able to follow the money from the European budget all the way to the final beneficiary. If an organisation cannot be transparent about its links and its funding, it should not receive public money.”
Kanko said:
“This is not about targeting Muslims. Muslims are often among the first people to suffer from fundamentalists who try to control how they live, think and speak. Fighting political Islamism means defending the right of every citizen to live without intimidation or ideological pressure.”
For the ECR Group criticism of Islamism must not be dismissed or labelled as Islamophobia. The ECR Group now expects the Commission and the Council to follow up on Parliament’s call.
Parliament adopted the resolution by 381 votes in favour, 167 against and 15 abstentions.
