In situations of military conflict, civil strife, lawlessness, bad governance, and human rights violations, terrorists find it easier to hide, train and prepare their attacks. – Gijs de Vries
If you combat an international phenomenon, it is indispensable to share information internationally. – Gijs de Vries
There is a series of sectors which could be severely disrupted by terrorist attacks, particularly if they were to happen in several member states simultaneously. – Gijs de Vries
Terrorists have failed to trigger mass conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe. We should draw strength from that fact. – Gijs de Vries
We are familiar with terrorism. But indiscriminate, cross-border, religiously motivated terrorism is new. – Gijs de Vries
I have never come across a technology that doesn’t change. This is inevitable. You have to adapt your systems as technology develops. – Gijs de Vries
It’s important that we work very closely with moderate Muslim forces locally, nationally and internationally. – Gijs de Vries
Police forces collect information to be used in a public court to get people convicted. Security services gather information that does not necessarily lead to people being prosecuted and in many cases needs to remain confidential. – Gijs de Vries
If you exchange information internationally, you must strengthen data protection. Those are two sides of the same coin. – Gijs de Vries
The European Borders Agency in Warsaw has been created to help border forces in Europe cooperate more. – Gijs de Vries
If information ends up in the wrong hands, the lives of people very often are immediately at risk. – Gijs de Vries
There are no automatic links between poverty and terrorism. Among millions of poor people in the world, only a few turn to terrorism. – Gijs de Vries
In the fight against terrorism, national agencies keep full control over their police forces, security and intelligence agencies and judicial authorities. – Gijs de Vries
You can’t get closer to the heart of national sovereignty than national security and intelligence services. – Gijs de Vries
In intelligence work, there are limits to the amount of information one can share. Confidentiality is essential. – Gijs de Vries
Terrorists have failed in what is arguably al Qaida’s most important objective – to trigger revolutions. – Gijs de Vries
Indiscriminate attacks on civilians ought, under all circumstances, to be illegal in war as in peacetime. – Gijs de Vries
The violent radicals do not legitimately represent the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims. – Gijs de Vries
We remain vulnerable. There is no such thing as 100 percent security against terrorism. – Gijs de Vries
We have an integrated picture of the threat from outside and from within that is provided not only to our foreign ministers but also to our justice and interior ministers. – Gijs de Vries
We’re still stymied by the old stand-off between those who wish to fight terrorism and resistance fighters. – Gijs de Vries
