Gijs de Vries
  • I remain optimistic. What we've seen in Europe and the rest of the world is that freedom has a much stronger attraction than radical fundamentalism.

  • In the fight against terrorism, national agencies keep full control over their police forces, security and intelligence agencies and judicial authorities.

  • In intelligence work, there are limits to the amount of information one can share. Confidentiality is essential.

  • You can't get closer to the heart of national sovereignty than national security and intelligence services.

  • Terrorists have failed to trigger mass conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe. We should draw strength from that fact.