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THE EU FIGHTS AGAINST THE SCOURGE OF TERRORISM
Terrorism is not a new phenomenon in Europe. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain alone, it has caused 5 000 deaths in thirty years. It has become even more international in recent years. The bomb attacks in Madrid and in London clearly demonstrate this point.
Terrorism takes many forms and uses ever more sophisticated and deadly organizational techniques and operational methods . Bioterrorism and chemical threats are all too real. Well organised terrorist groups are receiving support from sympathizer networks in many countries, and have rear bases and sizeable financial resources. In 1999, the EU Heads of State or Government initiated work on the basis of the Amsterdam Treaty, which strengthened the powers of the European Union in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs. The terrorist attacks perpetrated in the United States on 11 September 2001 threw the world into turmoil. The European Union decided to step up its efforts:
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS On 18 December 2007, the European Commission sent Member States a questionnaire
This questionnaire aims at gathering factual and concrete information on the application of anti-terrorism measures adopted by Member States, as well as on their effectiveness and their compliancy with fundamental rights. This information is required to help the Commission to register possible shortcomings encountered in Member States and to assess opportunities for action at EU level. On 6 November 2007, the Commission has adopted a package containing a series of proposals dealing with the criminalization of terrorist training, recruitment and public provocation to commit terrorist offences, the prevention of the use of explosives by terrorists and the use of airline passenger information in law enforcement investigations as well as the second report on the implementation of the Framework Decision on combating terrorism.
HISTORY On 21 September 2001, the European Council, i.e. the EU Heads of State or Government of the European Union , adopted an action plan to fight against terrorism. On 3 October 2001, the European Commission proposed that the Member States should freeze all funds belonging to 27 organisations and individuals suspected of financing terrorist activities. On 12 December 2001, the Commission set up a group of Scientific Experts in the battle against biological and chemical terrorism. In 2002, the pace of activities accelerated. On 13 June 2002, two framework decisions were adopted by the Council of Ministers.
Moreover, the European Union gave the European police cooperation agency Europol resources to analyse the terrorist risks and threats and to play its role in exchanging information in this field. On 28 February 2002, the European Union set up Eurojust, with the aim of facilitating interaction between the Judicial Authorities while offering suspected or convicted persons the necessary safeguards.
On 11 March 2004 the European Union reacted immediately when Madrid was hit by bloody terrorist attacks as it did a year and a half later, on 7 July 2005, when London had to face the same terrorist attack. Each year on 11 March, the European Union dedicates a Memorial Day expressing its solidarity to all victims of Terrorism. In 2004, the EU supplemented the 2001 Action Plan against Terrorism and re-aligned it to pursue seven major objectives: 1. to reinforce international efforts to combat terrorism; The European Commission put emphasis on more efficient exchange of information and called on the European Union to set up a new mechanism for the exchange of information, particularly between law enforcement, Judicial Authorities and Intelligence Services. In order to make a concrete contribution to international action, and acting on a European Council request of 26 March 2004, the Commission proposed the transfer of certain data to Interpol, inter alia, data on stolen passports. On 10 June 2004, the Commission published a report examining the measures taken by the Member States to comply with the framework decision of June 2002 concerning the fight against terrorism. It urged several Member States that had not yet adopted the national measures for transposition to do so. On 16 June 2004, the European Commission adopted a communication to the Council and the Parliament aiming at allowing the law enforcement services of one Member State to have a right of access to the databases of another Member State. On the same line, it stressed the need to reinforce cooperation between the Member States, Europol and Eurojust, and between Europol and the Task Force of Police Chiefs indicating Europol as the right body for gathering criminal information, to support the work of the Task Force of Police Chiefs. Finally, since 2004, the European Commission finances projects to sustain the fight against terrorism, one of which is particularly dedicated to help victims of terrorist attacks . The victims are a constant reminder of the threat that terrorism poses to the most fundamental tenets of our democracies, amongst which is the right to life.
The battle against terrorism requires the mobilisation of all citizens to guarantee freedom and security for all. Each year on 11 March, the European Union dedicates a Memorial Day expressing its solidarity to all victims of Terrorism. ACHIEVEMENTS SINCE 11 MARCH 2005 Following the presentation in March 2005 of a Memorial Report dedicated to the victims of terrorism the European Union has strengthened its commitment to fight against terrorism in order to increase its internal security and to assist its international partners in this fight on a global scale. The European Commission has continued to play its part in delivering the EU Counter-terrorism Strategy. To that effect, a certain number of important initiatives have been taken along four main tracks: the prevention, the protection, the prosecution and the response. Prevention The European Commission stressed the need to identify and address the factors contributing to violent radicalisation. Its Communication on Terrorist recruitment presents a wide view of the EU Strategy on Radicalisation and Recruitment. It identifies the policies that could be channelled more effectively towards tackling possible factors that contribute to radicalisation like terrorist propaganda in the media, youth vulnerability, and integration failure. In order to match the enormous complexity of the underlying causes of radicalisation, it has been decided to create an Expert Group on Violent Radicalisation to support the Commission’s policy-making. Furthermore, the EU Commission intends to encourage and sustain studies and analyses of this phenomenon, based on multidisciplinary and comparative approaches. The existence of money flows which enable terrorists to travel, hide and purchase or produce the means to cause destruction and carnage has led the EU Commission to reflect upon the possible ways to disrupt those flows. To that end, it proposed measures to tighten controls on money transfers and to take up the highly sensitive issue of how to prevent the misuse of non-profit organisations by terrorists to finance their activities. A detailed and open consultation between the European Commission and the sector concerned has resulted in a Communication setting out a Recommendation to Member States and a Framework for a "Code of Conduct". The Madrid and London bombings further confirmed the EU Commission’s desire to address the security of explosives and detonators . In a Communication on measures to ensure greater security in explosives, detonators, bomb-making equipment and firearms, the Commission places emphasis on improving security arrangements throughout the whole production and supply chain, particularly during storage and transport. Among the general themes underlying the Commission’s proposals are the strong needs to engage with the private sector in relation to civil explosives and pre-cursors as well as to improve their detection and traceability. Protection The European Union and its citizens have demonstrated their sympathy with the victims of terrorism on a number of occasions. In 2005, € 2m was allocated for projects proposed by organisations who in one way or another help the victims. Several organisations from across the whole Union benefited from these funds, reflecting the shared solidarity that exists across the EU. The Commission is working on enhancing the protection of critical infrastructure by way of a European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection (EPCIP). Based on the EPCIP Green Paper adopted in November 2005 and followed by a public consultation, the programme should address such issues as the definition of a critical infrastructure, the key principles regarding their protection as well as the sharing of responsibilities between the Member States, the EU, the private sector and other stakeholders. Work on countering chemical and biological threats has progressed too. The evaluation of chemical, biological and radiological threats, the strengthening of preventive measures as well as the ability to respond to possible attacks will continue to be high on the agenda of the Commission and Union. The Commission has been supporting a number of research projects in this field. New preventive measures such as the possibility of creating mobile laboratories that may be deployed in times of crisis will also be explored. The active participation of the private sector is an important, albeit often neglected, component of the fight against terrorism and to this effect the Commission is developing a general policy on a Public-Private Security Dialogue and is preparing a general horizontal EU Action Plan on public-private partnerships. The idea is to structure partnership with a view to gathering and exchanging information, intelligence and best practices from public-private initiatives in different fields. This should encompass the creation of a framework where high-level and strategic discussions could take place. Prosecution Since the pursuit and prosecution of terrorists fall within the competence of the EU Member States law enforcement and judicial authorities, the European Commission concentrates its activities on supplying Member States with suitable tools to better identify, pursue and prosecute terrorists. The need to exchange information between law enforcement agencies has been among the more important issues dealt in the last months. In that context, the Commission presented a legislative proposal to allow law enforcement authorities to obtain relevant information from across the Union with the same ease as within their own Member State. This “principle of availability” is intended to become a key instrument in the fight against terrorism. The Commission has also adopted other initiatives to improve the exchange of information. For instance, it has adopted a proposal that would allow Member State authorities responsible for internal security and Europol to access the Visa Information System. Another example is the proposal it has submitted to the Council aimed at establishing a mechanism to strengthen the transmission of information resulting from the activities of national security and intelligence services with respect to terrorist offences to Europol. The need to exchange information between law enforcement agencies has to be balanced with the need to assure appropriate handling of stored and transmitted information. The Commission’s proposal on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters aims at respecting the fundamental right to data protection without allowing differing levels of data protection to hamper the exchange of relevant information between Member States. The need for a more efficiently organised security environment for European citizens has led to further major achievements during the last period:
Response The EU approach to combating terrorism also includes a strong focus on enhancing preparedness and improving consequence management . When prevention fails and attacks occur, only a well-organised and effective response system can guarantee an expeditious return to normality. A direct response to terrorist attacks is the responsibility of the national authorities of the affected Member State . However, the assets and capabilities required to handle the consequences of terrorist attacks could exceed the civil protection capabilities of the country affected. This is when the EU can come in. Joint action can ensure a timely and adequate response . A general link has been installed between all specialised Rapid Alert Systems (RAS) that are currently hosted by the Commission by way of a system called ARGUS. This will facilitate coordinated and comprehensive responses by the Commission to emergencies that require action at European level. VP’s letter to European Citizens 
VP’s letter to European Citizens on 11 March 2006 – the second European Day for the Victims of Terrorism |
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[145 KB]
on criminal law, procedural/administrative law and fundamental rights in the framework of the fight against terrorism.
(PDF File 456 KB)