Members of European Parliament met in Strasbourg on Wednesday to debate on how to handle the ISIS terror attacks after the series of deadly incidents in Mali, Paris, Egypt, Tunisia and Beirut.

The members had different opinions on how to handle terrorism, but they were unanimous on having tightened security across the continent. They agreed that it was the right time to take immediate action.

The chairman of the parliament’s centre-right EPP group, Manfred Weber, said that there was a quick need for the continent to be united and take strict step to fight the ISIS terror. He emphasised on the improvement of information-sharing system of the European Union.

“We need an agreement on passenger name record (PNR), but we also need a review of the EU data protection directive. We need results. We know this is a challenge for Europe as a whole. It is now time for action, not just words,” the European Parliament Magazine quoted Weber as saying. Parliament’s S&D group chairman Gianni Pittella seconded Weber’s opinion and added that “more Europe, not less” is needed to fight IS terrorism.

"We need more Europe to strengthen cooperation among national intelligence services and to reinforce control of our external borders while safeguarding Schengen, one of the most powerful symbols of EU integration," he added.

Parliament’s Security and Defence Committee’s Vice-Chairman Afzal Khan focused on what EU intelligence cooperation lacked. He emphasised on the eradication of media that radicalised young minds. “Europe’s strategy to prevent radicalisation should start from the understanding that the current refugee crisis represents an opportunity to confront discrimination, intolerance and hostility in our own lives. We must not mix the challenge of refugees and the challenge of terrorism.”

He continued saying Muslims are not the enemy, but those in Europe and abroad are their allies. The MEPs have decided to declare illegal the companies that host or run websites promoting terrorism through violent videos and contents and thereby radicalising the youth.

The members, however, also want those website companies to cooperate with the government in spreading anti-radicalisation messages to minimise the number of people being brainwashed.

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