EU responses to international terrorism

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EU responses to international terrorism
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Definition of terrorism

• Schmit Jongman an anxiety-inspiring method of
  repeated violent action, employed by
  (semi-)clandestine individuals, groups or state
  actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political
  reasons, whereby- in contrast to assassination-
  the direct targets of violence are not the main
  targets (but) serve as message generators,
• Differences with insurgency or warfare its
  psychological impact (anxiety and fear) on
  society is far greater than its material
  consequences (physical harm to persons and
  property)
• Transnational character of terrorism
• Different constituencies and motivations

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Social construction of threat perception

• Various interpretations of threats
• Causes and motivations
• Responses
• MSs perceptions of the threat different
  experiences of the MSs, different political
  systems and cultures, Muslim population in the EU
  countries
• ESS

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Early stages of EC counter-terrorism cooperation

• The TREVI group
• set up in 1975
• Comprised of interior and justice ministers as
  well as police chiefs
• Operation a telex system for circulating among
  interior ministers, police forces and security
  services (separate from the EPC, the foreign
  ministers, the Commission, and the Council)
  useful operational coordination in terms of
  contacts, exchange of information, adoption of a
  more interoperable communication techniques)
• Met biannually
• TREVI did not arrive at consensus on a common
  definition of terrorism, improved extradition
  procedure, refugee or asylum policies
• Explanations difference in threat perception and
  different judicial systems

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Post 9/11 responses

• The European Council, Action Plan on Combating
  Terrorism, November 2001 calls for legislation
  (under the Community method) and voluntary
  adaptation through peer reviews and
  identification of best practices many of these
  measures were not exclusively or primarily
  targeted at terrorist activities they have led
  to changes across policy areas intelligence, law
  enforcement, border control, capital control and
  foreign policy
• A counter-terrorism strategy, December 2005
• 51 adopted and 33 proposed pieces of legislation
  as well as 22 Commissions Communications and 21
  Reports under the heading of the fight against
  terrorism
• The Office of a EUs counter-terrorism
  coordinator- established in 2004 largely
  symbolic powers no resources and competences (to
  propose legislation or share Councils meetings)
• The European Police Office (Europol)
  re-establishment of Joint Investigative teams and
  reporting duties on terrorist activities
• The Situation Center (SitCen)- increased role in
  assessing terrorist-related intelligence limited
  staff and no explicit legal mandate

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Post 9/11 responses

• Policy priorities and objectives
• -No coherent and ranked set of objectives, the
  level of action and the method of coordination
• -to facilitate policing and intelligence sharing
  an overwhelming majority of measures were not
  exclusively focused on terrorism and aimed at
  combating crime (European Arrest Warrant and the
  Evidence Warrant)
• Governing models community and intergovernmental
  methods growth of horizontal networks
• Accountability, legitimacy and performance
  problems
• Very little done on tackling the root causes of
  terrorism
• Erosion of democratic, legal and social norms