Confidential partnerships? The EU, its strategic partners and international terrorism

The European Union (EU) has identified terrorism as one of the key threats it faces in both its external and internal security strategies. This paper focuses on the EU’s global role in counter-terrorism and, more specifically, on its cooperation with its strategic partners on related issues, such as countering terrorist financing or capacity building in third countries.

The EU is a modest yet growing player in this policy area. While this review detects some good instances of cooperation, the overall assessment reveals that most partnerships are under-delivering or remain elusive.