--- description: For them, the bombings are a further indictment of immigration and tolerance of Muslims title: Europe's Far Right Point Fingers After Brussels Attacks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c96683c00e7547a/69888bf6e20a87477da9012e/brussels-terror-attacks-belgium-explosions-05.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Europe's Far Right Point Fingers After Brussels Attacks by [Eliza Gray / London](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray / London Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2016 5:18 PM CUT  Windows are destroyed at the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem near Brussels, Belgium, on March 22, 2016. Windows are destroyed at the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem near Brussels, Belgium, on March 22, 2016.Laurent Dubrule—EPA by [Eliza Gray / London](/author/eliza-gray/) ## Eliza Gray / London Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2016 5:18 PM CUT Right-wing leaders across Europe criticized European Union policies on Tuesday, blaming open borders and a failure to address Islamic fundamentalism for the terrorist attacks in Brussels. In the U.K., Mike Hookem, Member of the European Parliament and defense spokesman for the UK Independence Party, which is campaigning for Britain to leave the E.U., called for closing down the open [borders between countries in the euro zone in a press release](http://www.mike-hookem.org/news22032016%5F1.html "undefined"). “How many more times will innocent people have to suffer at the hands of these animals before the E.U. realize their policies and their responses to incidents such as this are not working?” From Holland, Geert Wilders, an anti-Muslim politician and founder of the Party for Freedom, [who is on trial for inciting hatred against the Dutch Moroccan minority](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/18/dutch-far-right-leader-geert-wilders-goeson-trial-for-inciting-hatred "undefined"), also advocated shutting the borders, [telling Brietbart London](http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/03/22/explosions-hit-brussels-airport/ "undefined"): “It is time to act. First of all, we must close our national borders and detain all the jihadists whom we have foolishly allowed to return from Syria. We must also tell people the truth. The cause of all this bloodshed is Islam. We need to de-Islamize the West. That is the only way to safeguard our lives and protect our freedom.” ### Scenes From the Aftermath of the Brussels Attacks  In this photo provided by Georgian Public Broadcaster and photographed by Ketevan Kardava, two women are wounded in Brussels Airport in Belgium after explosions were heard on March 22, 2016. Ketevan Kardava—Georgian Public Broadcaster/AP  An injured man lies at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels, Belgium, on March 22, 2016. Ketevan Kardava—Georgian Public Broadcaster/Reuters  A soldier is seen at Zaventem Airport after a blast occurred in Brussels, Belgium, March 22, 2016. Jef Versele—Handout/Reuters  This image provided by the Belgian Federal Police in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 shows men who are suspected of taking part in the attacks at Belgium's Zaventem Airport. The man at right is still being sought by the police and two others in the photo that the police issued were according to a the Belgian Prosecutors 'probably' suicide bombers. Belgian Federal Police/AP  Passengers and airport staff are evacuated from the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem near Brussels, Belgium, on March 22, 2016. Laurent Dubrule—EPA  A victim receives first aid by rescuers, on March 22, 2016, near Maelbeek metro station in Brussels, after a blast at this station near the E.U. institutions caused deaths and injuries Emmanuel Dunand—AFP/Getty Images  People react outside Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels, Belgium on March 22, 2016. Geert Vanden Wijngaert—AP  A private security guard helps a wounded women outside the Maalbeek metro station after a blast at this station located near the EU institutions, in Brussels on March 21, 2016. Michael Villa—AFP/Getty Images  Passengers are evacuated to safe zone at the Maelbeek railway station in Brussels, Belgium, on March 22, 2016. Han Shuang—Xinhua/Alamy Live News. France’s leader of the far-right party Front National, Marine Le Pen, [told reporters in Quebec](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/marine-le-pen-belgium-montreal-1.3501949 "undefined"), where she was traveling, that she blamed Europe for not taking Islamic fundamentalism seriously enough. “I’ve maintained this position in France for months. And I will repeat the same thing everywhere I go,” she said. “I don’t get the sense that Islamic fundamentalism is being treated like the threat it really is. And just like I saw in France in the past, here in Canada, whoever condemns Islamic fundamentalism is accused of Islamophobia.” Leaders from Italy’s right-wing Northern League, Gian Marco Centinaio and Massimiliano Fedriga, blamed the E.U. for the attacks [in a statement quoted in the _Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-reacts-with-shock-to-brussels-attacks-1458651742 "undefined"). “We are astonished and heartbroken for the lives broken by Islamic hate. We aren’t responding, the E.U. institutions are weak, fragile, helpless and are turning the other way, allowing these massacres.” Vlaams Belang, Belgium’s far-right party, tweeted to Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel: “Please close the borders. We can not stop #terrorism if they remain open.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4267975/brussels-attacks-far-right/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4267975/brussels-attacks-far-right/"},"headline":"Europe's Far Right Point Fingers After Brussels Attacks","datePublished":"2016-03-22T17:18:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:14.136Z","description":"For them, the bombings are a further indictment of immigration and tolerance of Muslims","url":"https://time.com/4267975/brussels-attacks-far-right/","keywords":["Belgium"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c96683c00e7547a/69888bf6e20a87477da9012e/brussels-terror-attacks-belgium-explosions-05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Gray / London"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c96683c00e7547a/69888bf6e20a87477da9012e/brussels-terror-attacks-belgium-explosions-05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Explosions at Brussels Airport","caption":"Belgium Airport Brussels Terror Attacks Bombings","creditText":"Laurent Dubrule—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4267975/brussels-attacks-far-right/","name":"Europe's Far Right Point Fingers After Brussels Attacks"}}]}] ```