Although anti-terrorist action by the European Union (EU) has been prolific since the attacks on European soil, has it been effective? It is difficult to answer this question, as the policy is still being worked out and the actions of EU institutions remain largely subsidiary to those of member states.
The European Union and the Fight Against Terrorism: an Effective Policy?
If it were a question of commenting on the EU’s policy on combating terrorism in the form of an overview of the existing system, this edition of Défense nationale et sécurité collective would not be large enough by itself. Among the main features of the policy, the European Security Strategy must be mentioned, approved by the European Council of 12 and 13 December 2003, which describes terrorism as belonging to the group of ‘principal threats’; also the systematic inclusion of anti-terrorist matters in dialogues with countries and third-party organisations which are Union partners; the setting-up of mutual evaluation procedures in the terrorism field; the development of a Green Paper in July 2007 on the state of preparations in the face of biological risks; the renovation of the Community civil protection mechanism; strengthening the financing of security-related projects through the Seventh Framework Programme of research; the creation of Eurojust and the SITCEN (Situation Centre), and the extension of Europol’s mandate.
Major Advances
However, if one has to choose, five major advances stand out. The first is the development of a European definition of terrorism. Since the attacks of 11 September 2001 the member states have adopted common legislation which defines what constitutes an act of terrorism. The basic law, the framework decision of 13 June 2002, harmonises criminal offences in the field of terrorism. It requires states to make it illegal to lead a terrorist group, to participate in one, to do anything with a view to accomplishing a terrorist act, to commit aggravated robbery or blackmail or to create false documents. In its communication of 6 November 2007, the European Commission suggested modifying the framework decision to include public incitement, recruitment and training.(1)
The New York attacks enabled the EU to define the phenomenon in both abstract and concrete terms. As a political entity, it carried out a ‘categorisation’ exercise. This consists in applying a label to an individual or organisation,(2) expressly designating them as terrorist, and thus establishing a list of persons or organisations whose assets should be frozen.
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