http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,776985,00.htmlFollowing the horrific attacks that left 76 dead in Norway last week, many European leaders have been asking questions about the dangers of right-wing radicalization in the region. In recent years European Union member countries have seen growing support for right-wing populist groups -- but the attacks confessed to by Anders Behring Breivik took their anti-Islam, xenophobic ideology to an entirely new and deadly level.
In hopes of preventing similar events, this week both European Union interior ministers and the European law enforcement agency Europol pledged to review the dangers posed by far-right extremists within the 27 member states. The topic of radicalization has been tacked on to the agenda for the late September meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, to which non-EU member Norway has now also been invited. Meanwhile, an EU anti-radicalization network already set in motion last year is set to take up its work earlier in the same month.
In the Netherlands, debate focused on the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), led by the divisive Geert Wilders. While Wilders condemned the attacks and called Breivik a madman, he also refused any potential blame after it became clear that his anti-Islam speeches had been quoted in Breivik's manifesto.
France's National Front party , known for its nationalistic, far-right policies, has also shifted into the spotlight. Anti-racism initiative MRAP accused the party of nurturing conditions for such an attack, while the left-wing news magazine Le Nouvelle Observateur said Breivik was the "embodiment of a new spirit in Europe." National Front politicians denied any role in the encouraging terrorism with their policies.
Better late than never.
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