Officials working for the Left-wing S&D Group said they felt secure within the European Parliament amid a terror attack in Brussels on October 16, so much so that one complained about the heating.
In group chat messages leaked to Brussels Signal, parliamentary trainees with S&D discussed the then-ongoing terror attack in the city. An illegal migrant with Islamist motives reportedly shot dead two Swedish football fans and injured at least one other person.
Writing in the group, some expressed concern for their own safety while the gunman was still at large, suggesting that it might be best for them to stay at home.
Such fears were quickly swatted down by others, who noted that while the streets of Brussels could not be considered completely safe, inside the European Parliament it was a different matter.
“My [colleagues] are pointing out that arguably the Parliament will be one of the safest places,” one trainee wrote.
“I’m guessing they will turn European Parliament security measures up a notch after these shootings, so we are all covered,” another added.
One user bemoaned the fact that the central heating had not been turned up despite a recent drop in temperature.
“The heating is not enough,” the trainee complained. “It was quite cold today.”
A surge of Islamist terrorist attacks is likely in 2024, French intelligence services have warned. https://t.co/Etv92Kldbp
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 6, 2023
Questions regarding the cause of the shooting were also discussed in the chat, with one trainee suggesting that it “might be time to rethink [the] social democratic policies” that arguably lead to Islamic terror attacks occurring.
Such conversations were not limited to the S&D Group. Members of a broader European Parliament trainees’ chat group also questioned whether the attack was motivated by radical Islam.
“Seems religiously motivated according to several reports, so it could be because of the quaran [sic] burnings back home,” one wrote. “But I’m speculating.”
That statement was admonished by another member who said “a group chat with 200 people” was not “an appropriate place for speculation”.
Sweden’s security service SAPO has put the terrorist-threat level against the nation at 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 over rising tensions following a series of Quran burnings in the Scandinavian country. https://t.co/nyJqcjuw5I
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 17, 2023
