The black nightmare of the Green Continent

The deployment of about 147,000 police officers on Paris and other cities’ streets in the early days of the New Year, and the increased security warnings in other EU member states, uncovers of a deep-seated crisis existing in the Green Continent.

The “security crisis”, which was a marginal crisis in the early months of 2018, has once again become the main crisis in European countries. But this time, the security crises in Europe are very different with what we saw during 2015 and 2016!

Over the past years, “the security crisis” in Europe was regarded as an independent crisis by experts of European and international affairs. It wasn’t without a reason that Western security forces tried to “create an external source”, such as ISIL, to justify these crises.

In other words, the security authorities in the European countries tried not to point out their policies in the creation of Takfiri groups and supporting them in West Asia, and their inability to manage these groups. But this equation has completely changed over the last months of 2018!

This time, the “crisis of security in Europe”, besides being the result of the Takfiris’ and nationalist groups’ activities, was also the product of other social, political and economic crises in the EU member states.

This time, security officials in Europe couldn’t deny the “internal source” of security crises in this block. The rise of social unrests in European countries on the one hand, and the emergence of nationalist and radical right movements, on the other hand, has led to a change in Western security equations.

The researches also show an increase of violence and crime in Western countries, which in parts, is indicative of this security crisis in Europe. This crisis has affected even more prosperous European countries such as Sweden. According to the latest statistics, firearm-related violence is increasing is Sweden, and this country is highly affected by these crimes. Only last year, more than 800 firearms were seized in Sweden.

Also, about 300 people were arrested in connection with heavy crimes. Besides, according to the sources, 129 people were injured during the shooting incidents in Sweden last year, and 44 were killed, a figure that was unprecedented in previous years. This rule applies to other European countries as well. In such a situation, many European countries are reluctant to publish the exact information on crime and violence in their countries.

Anyhow, the “2019 Europe” will be much more insecure than the “2018 Europe”. The recent changes which have taken palace in Europe is such that the European citizens can no more be optimistic about United Europe. Rather, in this period which the security crises in the West are becoming more intense than any time before, the European citizens are more willing to see the “breakdown of the EU”.

The security crisis is a topic that today’s European Union is deeply touched by. Common European security policies have failed to improve the security situation inside the Schengen borders and other European borders, and became the Achilles heel of Europe’s security and intelligence.

On the other hand, nationalist and anti-EU, anti-immigrant movements (which are mostly of anti-Islamic tendencies) have been able to operate as official parties in the West and attract many people in the current political and social atmosphere. A considerable part of the crimes committed in the West is done by the nationalist and racist groups against Muslims and immigrants. But such news are mostly censored by the Western media.

Under such circumstances, “security”, as a minimum requirement of the European citizens, is lost in their everyday lives, and this has become a widespread crisis in the West, along with other crises (social, political and economic ones). It’s not without a reason that any kind of civil disobedience, or social and economic protest will increase the level of security alert in the European Union.

Here, the main question is, what was the role of Western security policies in shaping this frightening process over the past decades? Well, the answer to this question is clear! The indifference of the European security services to the rise of extremist movements, and even Neo-Nazi and Fascist groups in different European countries, and the subsequent support of these apparatus for the Takfiri groups in the West Asian region, had stuck Europe in a terrible security crisis.

Now that public dissatisfaction with European politicians has been contributed to it, the situation has worsened considerably for European countries. Certainly, in the context of the security crisis, the West faces a hazardous structure that the European authorities themselves contributed to its creation and continuity. In the meantime, providing reverse interpretations and attempts to introduce external sources for the security crises in the West, can’t be of any help to the European officials.

As a result, the “2019 Europe” will be more vulnerable and more insecure than Europe in 2018. This vulnerability will be highlighted in the security, social, political and economic equations. However, the “security crisis” will be the main crisis in Europe in this year. The product of this process will be a “deformed Europe”. The strengthening of anarchy and disorder in Europe is not something that the current leaders of the European Union and the Eurozone can manage and control, especially at a time when the European Troika has actually collapsed.

First published in our partner MNA