15.06.2018
Traineeship opportunity at Petr Ježek’s Brussels office
09.01.2018
Goodbye to tax havens? Interview for France 24
12.12.2017
Traineeship opportunity at Petr Ježek’s Brussels office
Calendar
Gallery
Petr Ježek
Born in Prague in 1965. A graduate of Prague’s University of Economics, Petr Ježek joined his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as a diplomat. For some ten years, he held relatively high posts related to the country’s ties with the EU, e.g. heading the Foreign Ministry’s European Integration Department and serving as Deputy State Secretary for European Affairs. He also worked as chief of staff of then Czech Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla. In 2014, Petr Ježek was elected Member of the European Parliament on the ballot of the ANO 2011 party.
Contacts
The European response to the threat of terrorism should focus on terrorism financing, internal and external security and terrorism’s root causes, Petr Ježek told the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday.
“Terrorism is a threat to our lives and values, to our societies and our way of life. The scope of the threat is broad and therefore requires a European response, in close cooperation with our partners around the world,” said MEP Ježek, ALDE Group's shadow rapporteur for a report on combating terrorism.
In the debate, which followed statements by the European Commission and the Council of the EU on the increased threat of terrorism, Petr Ježek highlighted several aspects that needed swift action, such as the issue of terrorism financing.
“We need to adapt our legislation to better prevent and track terrorism financing. It's not expensive to conduct attacks like the latest one in Paris: we need tighter rules on tools like prepaid cards and stricter AML rules,” he said.
Speaking on the issue of security, Petr Ježek emphasized the need to reinforce security measures at all levels, from local to EU wide, provided these measures are effective rather than excessive.
“At European level, cooperation between member states, their police and other law enforcement agencies is the key. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past. At the same time, we must better protect and control our external borders. The alert is high, it is crucial that all our border and coast guards and the police know who enters or leaves Europe.”
Europe cannot possibly neutralize the threat of terrorism without addressing its root causes. The EU should primarily focus on the prevention of radicalization of those who were born in EU member states, according to Petr Ježek.
“Many radicalized people were born and raised in Europe and then became foreign fighters and some conduct attacks against their own country. To prevent and fight radicalization is an uphill struggle but we must bite the bullet. Teams with expertise and on the ground experience who can contribute should develop integration projects which local authorities should then implement,” concluded Petr Ježek.