European Union (EU) ministers have called on member states to enhance their screening procedures for migrants and promptly expel those deemed to pose a security threat, following a series of militant attacks. The urgent meeting of interior and justice ministers was prompted by the recent murders of a teacher in France and two individuals in Brussels, suspected to be the work of Islamist militants.

Amid heightened security concerns due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, European police forces are on high alert. In France, President Emmanuel Macron attended the funeral of Dominique Bernard, the 57-year-old teacher fatally stabbed at a school in Arras last week. Bernard, a literature teacher and father of three, was posthumously awarded France’s highest civilian decoration, the Legion of Honour. During the attack, Bernard and other staff members bravely confronted the assailant. Another teacher and a security guard sustained serious injuries in the incident.

The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Mohamed Mogouchkov, a Russian national of Chechen origin, shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) during the assault. Mogouchkov, a former pupil at the school, had alarmed teachers with his extremist language, and he is now in custody, facing charges of murder and terrorism. Several members of his family, including a 17-year-old brother, mother, sister, and uncle, have also been arrested.

In response to these incidents, EU migration commissioner Ylva Johansson emphasized the importance of forcefully and promptly repatriating individuals who could pose a security threat to EU citizens. Johansson urged greater efficiency, closure of loopholes, and quicker decision-making processes for carrying out deportations.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin highlighted a degree of naivety within some countries’ institutions or the EU, indicating the need for a more vigilant approach in addressing security concerns related to migration within the EU.