Foreign fighters and European responses

Author (Corporate)
Series Title
Series Details 28.01.15
Publication Date 28/01/2015
Content Type

In the light of the terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015, the spotlight has fallen on the phenomenon of foreign fighters. These radicalised citizens of EU member states pose a threat to security, having been trained to fight and hardened against Western values in the war zones of Syria and Iraq. The phenomenon can be traced further back to Al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and Afganistan, about the dangers of which commentators have been warning for many years. Especially since the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2178 in September 2014, states around the world have been looking to counter the threat posed by foreign fighters at home. Europol Director-General Rob Wainwright recently cited “3,000 to 5,000 EU nationals” as potential foreign fighters.

This Keysource brings together the EU response, starting with its legislative status quo. It looks at responses in certain Member States, and offers analysis and background information on the nature and extent of the phenomenon.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://epthinktank.eu/2015/01/28/foreign-fighters-and-european-responses/
Related Links
ESO: Background information: EU commission backs passport confiscation of jihadist suspects http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-commission-backs-passport-confiscation-of-jihadist-suspects/
EurActiv [Opinion], 28.01.15: Europe must tackle the sources of Islamic extremism, not the symptoms http://www.euractiv.com/sections/global-europe/europe-must-tackle-sources-islamic-extremism-not-symptoms-311625
EP: EPRS: Briefing, February 2015: ‘Foreign fighters’ – Member States’ responses and EU action in an international context http://www.europarl.europa.eu/EPRS/EPRS-Briefing-548980-Foreign-fighters-FINAL.pdf
EurActiv, 23.02.15: Flow of European jihadis drying up http://www.euractiv.com/sections/global-europe/flow-european-jihadis-drying-312333
Spiegel Online International, 23.02.15: Community Response: A Danish Answer to Radical Jihad http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/aarhus-program-for-returning-jihadists-from-syria-a-success-story-a-1019633.html
Deutsche Welle, 23.02.15: France takes passports from six citizens allegedly bound for Syria http://dw.de/p/1EgAR

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