Members of the EU Parliament take part in a voting session in Strasbourg, eastern France, on April 29, 2015. AFP PHOTO | FREDERICK FLORIN
In Summary
- In a resolution passed by 578 votes to 31, the parliament recommended that the European Union should launch a military training mission in Kenya.
- And while the European Parliament said it was “regrettable” that the response to the attack was slow, they said the European Union “should also make it a priority to address the persecution of Christians.”
- During the voting on Thursday, 34 members abstained, but the members also urged the EU to “pull together a financial contribution
In a
resolution passed by 578 votes to 31, the parliament recommended that
the European Union should launch a military training mission in Kenya
and supply equipment to the Kenyan army and police to tame the spread of
the Somalia-based terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
“MEPs
[Members of the European Parliament] advocate setting up an EU
(European Union) military training mission in Kenya and supplying
Kenya’s military and police forces with modern equipment and training to
fight terrorism and prevent the expansion of Al-Shabaab,” a statement
from the parliament said on Thursday evening.
The
move is a response to the April 2 attack at the Garissa University
College, in which 148 people, among them 142 students, were killed by
gunmen allied to Al-Shabaab.
‘PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS’
And
while the European Parliament said it was “regrettable” that the
response to the attack was slow, they said the European Union “should
also make it a priority to address the persecution of Christians”.
During
the Garissa attack, most of the students killed were those who
professed the Christian faith and the terrorists said they were avenging
the “continual persecution” of Muslims in East Africa.
On Thursday, the European Parliament rejected the terrorists’ claim that they were defending Islam.
Instead,
the members voted to “condemn and reject misinterpretations of Islam
designed to legitimise the extermination of Christians”.
The
European legislators called on Muslim leaders to join the fight against
terrorism, but called on the Kenyan government “not to draw parallels
between Muslims and Al-Shabaab and instead to target only the
perpetrators, not wider ethnic and faith communities”.
The
parliament, which has substantial legislative and budgetary powers, can
set, together with the European Council, the direction of major
projects the European bloc engages in.
RECEIVE MORE FUNDING
This
means that it can amend legislative proposals and contribute on which
areas to receive more funding, besides supervising the work of the
European Commission and other EU bodies.
The
parliament's decision, though, is just a proposal since foreign policy
decisions within the EU are made by the Council of Foreign Ministers
within the bloc.
For such a decision to be implemented, it means individual member countries of the EU would have to back it.
On
Tuesday this week, the European Commission, the EU’s executive body,
announced the European Agenda on Security for the years 2015-2020 to
support member states' cooperation in tackling security threats and
“step up our common efforts in the fight against terrorism, organised
crime and cybercrime”.
Though the
programme is largely meant to support EU members, its drafters admit the
problems, such as counter-radicalisation and terrorism, cybercrime and
organised crime, require a trans-border cooperation.
During
the voting on Thursday, 34 members abstained, but the members also
urged the EU to “pull together a financial contribution” to help ensure
peace and stability in the country and the region, in collaboration with
regional African blocs such as the African Union.
It
is not clear how much the new recommendation will involve, but the EU
has been a major financier of the African Union Mission in Somalia
(Amisom), which has about 22,000 troops fighting Al-Shabaab in Somalia
and seeking to stabilise Somalia since 2007.
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