The terrible terrorist bomb attacks in Brussels last Tuesday which killed 31 people and injured 300 should lead to a reassessment of Belgian and European intelligence and security operations and co-operation, as well as a thorough look at Belgian society. Sadly, the attacks were not particularly surprising, and Belgians’ worst fears unfortunately came true.

I have always maintained that as the so-called Islamic State continues to lose territory in Iraq and Syria, the jihadists will want to show that they are still a force to be reckoned with and will resort to more terrorist attacks. So far this year IS has carried out bomb attacks in Ankara, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jakarta, Istanbul and now Brussels, besides increasing their presence in Libya and Yemen.

The fact that Belgium was targeted is also not surprising, for a number of reasons, including the unfortunate fact that Brussels has proved to be a recruitment ground for jihadists. Also, soon after last November’s Paris terrorist attacks, Belgium was on high alert for possible attacks and a clear connection is now emerging between the men who carried out Tuesday’s Brussels airport and metro bombings and those responsible for November’s Paris carnage where 130 people died. Most of the Paris bombers were in fact Belgian nationals, and some of the bombs had been made in a flat in Brussels.

Two of the four attackers in Brussels have been identified as brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui. The latter blew himself up at the airport while the former struck at Maelbeek metro station. The police are saying that a third suicide bomber, who struck at the airport, is probably Najim Laachraoui, who has been linked to the Paris attacks. A fourth jihadist, who was seen at the airport, has not yet been named and is on the run.

The attacks came shortly after the arrest in Brussels of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving perpetrator of the Paris massacre, who has been in hiding ever since. It is not yet clear whether the Brussels terrorist attacks were linked to Abdeslam’s capture, but it is possible that the Brussels jihadists believed his capture would lead to their arrest. After all, Abdeslam is said to have had second thoughts about blowing himself up in Paris, and he is believed to be co-operating with the police. Abdeslam could potentially provide the authorities with a goldmine of information about terrorist cells in Europe.

We need to have a union of security- Jean-Claude Juncker

So, where does Belgium, and Europe, go from here? First of all, Belgium needs to come to terms with the fact that it now has per capita the highest number of jihadists from Western Europe who go to fight in Syria. The Brussels borough of Molenbeek, in particular, which is 80 per cent Muslim and has a massive unemployment rate, has been described as a breeding ground for jihadist militants.

Furthermore, Belgium is divided along linguistic lines between Flemish and French speakers, and the notion of Belgian identity is weak, sometimes leaving Muslims with an identity crisis and feeling marginalised. Many of these people are unfortunately exploited by IS recruiters and agree to join their ranks.

Belgium needs to look at how best it can draw up an integration programme for its Muslim nationals, as well as to get them to enter the labour force. Deradicalisation programmes for would-be jihadists also need to be drawn up. However, Muslim leaders in the country, including religious leaders, must be urged to do whatever is necessary to prevent Muslims going along the path of radicalisation, and laws must be enacted to make hate preaching a crime. It is said that the problem of Muslim extremism goes back to the 1970s when Belgium provided mosques for Saudi-trained Muslim clerics, many of whom had extremist views, in return for cheap oil from the desert kingdom. The time has come, therefore, for a clampdown on hate preachers who could turn young vulnerable Belgian Muslims into jihadists.

The Brussels attacks also highlight the need for a revamp of Belgium’s security and intelligence operations, as well as greater co-operation on a European level in these vital areas. Belgium’s intelligence agency is under-staffed and under-funded; this must change. Furthermore, the linguistic divide in the country has created a bureaucracy that hinders the sharing of information: the country has six parliaments for its regions and linguistic communities, 193 local police forces and, in Brussels, 19 autonomous mayors. This problem needs to be resolved, as does the fact that the country has a thriving black market in weapons.

Earlier on Thursday, Belgium admitted that it had made errors relating to one of the Brussels attackers. Turkey said it had arrested and deported Brahim el-Bakraoui, one of the suicide bombers, last June, warning Belgium he was a ‘foreign fighter’ – but apparently the message was ignored. Belgium’s interior and justice ministers in fact offered to resign over this but the resignations were not accepted by the Prime Minister.

The Brussels attacks also highlight the dire need for greater European Union co-operation in security and intelligence sharing. The evidence points to clear links between the Brussels and Paris terrorist attacks yet not enough information was shared between the two countries to prevent these latest attacks. “We need to have a union of security,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said at a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday, urging member states to adopt the Commission’s proposals on tighter external border controls and measures to make it more difficult to acquire firearms within the EU. Unless the EU’s borders are secure, the visa-free Schengen agreement, already under pressure because of the migrant crisis, could collapse, so urgent work is definitely needed here.

The fact that these latest attacks took place in Belgium, the heart of Europe, and home to Nato and the EU, also send out a message that our core European values were attacked, and it is important that Europe responds appropriately and firmly, and in accordance with its values.

What Europe must not do is to resort to populism, turn on its Muslim community and talk of ‘war’. That would be playing into the hands of IS whose principle aim is to drive a wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims and create social strife and disorder – which would only lead to increased recruitment for the jihadists.