This is a pan-European issue not only because Donald Tusk – by virtue of his position – took part in the Parisian demonstration on Sunday 11th January, expressing European moral and politi- cal solidarity. Following the attacks political order, security and statehood are threatened, and the responses to these threats cannot be easily put into a clear framework.

THE POLITICAL ORDER

Offensive caricatures are not accepted everywhere. One of the examples could be the United States, not to mention other parts of the world. Blasphemy is sometimes considered to be a crime, while a variety of religious beliefs are protected by many legal systems. A French Jesuit magazine ‘Études’ showed courage and a bold vision a few days ago when they reprinted the anti- Catholic cartoons from ‘Charlie Hebdo’.

Justifying their decision, the editors explained that distur- bing attacks could not undermine the attitudes of the self-critical people of faith. The people of Europe, even the most faithful, must be able to accept religious diversity and equal rights of their fellow citizens. This implies the need to reduce the poten- tial control of religion (one or more) over the public sphere and ensuring freedom of individual choice. This freedom sometimes leads to drifting away from a certain faith, religious conversion, or even a complete abandonment of religion – but it cannot be allowed to attempt to curtail such practices.

SAFETY

Threats to security will remain a nightmare bothering many Europeans. Not because of Muslims per se, but because of the criminal regimes in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and Yemen which resort to violence, not to mention the remaining Taliban trying to out- do one another in sending horrific messages and using cruelty to obtain legitimacy for a full and rigorous control of religion.

They were the impetus that prompted the Parisian bombers to take advantage of appropriate training and tools, as well as Internet manuals informing how to kill so many people. This is not the same situation it was in the Basque Country and Ireland in the 70s. We are facing new challenges. Terrorists do not ope- rate quite in the same way as they did in the days of Carlos the Jackal. Their ideology is inconsistent, and yet they still believe they have the right to kill.

Police forces are crucial to ensure security, but the issue of social isolation becomes the key. And the way that rumours about ‘Charlie Hebdo’ or alleged Jewish conspiracies aimed at mobilizing society against Islam and for Israel (despite the fact that during the Sunday demonstration Mahmoud Abbas marched shoulder to shoulder with Donald Tusk) spread is a clear evidence of the ability some groups to use a sense of solidarity with the people considered to be the Muslim victims of imperialism. These ru- mours will only play into the hands of both the radical right and the radical left, which leads me to the final point.

STATEHOOD

Statehood is a difficult subject raise in the context of the European Union, and the pressures of the various member countries for greater independence from Brussels is one of the causes of the current political impasse. We are confronted with the obvious need to create a common, much more integrated security ne- twork, which may seem to be a difficult task for nation-states that claim to be the only really powerful institutions within the EU. Meanwhile, we can react to the murders in two ways. The first is a general mobilization to boost reactions at the national level – one after the other. The second way is to think through the global challenges from the perspective of common European values.

The Paris march of the 11th January was characterized by the fact that it was not organized by any institution. It was a grassroots initiative. No party could lay claim to a leading role. A few days later, members of the French parliament sang the ‘Marseillaise’ for the first time since 11th November 1918 and are still acting in a responsible and restrained way, avoiding unnecessary conflicts.

But regardless of what the French government does, the most important task of all members of the EU lies in the effort to really emphasise shared values, and not only to improve the technical dimension of security cooperation. If Europeans consi- der private training of the armed forces as a practice that cannot be tolerated; if they believe that the right to bear arms should be under control, and the free movement of persons should be retained, they must develop a new, clearer narrative covering both the political order and issues of security. This is the basis of statehood. We need to calmly consider these challenges. We need to find new paths of action. Certainly bloodshed is not a sign of a clash of civilizations, and the answer cannot be a crusade against Muslim minorities or their isolation. We are still paying the price for inappropriate reactions to the attacks of 9/11.

Let’s start with the basic issues, but not forget about the general objective of a common life in a diverse Europe and asser- ting its social model and a renewed state system. The economy and the attacks posed a serious challenge before us. The citizens and politicians across the EU are to decide whether we will fail or develop a common solution. Certainly passivity is no longer a solution.