| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 27.10.03 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 27/10/2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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More than two years on from 11 September 2001 the issue of terrorism remains just as high on the global political agenda as it did in the days after the terrorist atrocities in the United States. Osama Bin Laden has yet to be caught, Al Qaeda continues to operate and smaller scale attacks around the world are increasingly being linked to terrorist networks. If anything the war in Iraq and the ever more frequent terrorist attacks on groupings in Baghdad has highlighted that the 'war on terrorism' is far from won. For 80% of European citizens fear of a terrorist attack is now their biggest fear according to a standard Eurobarometer carried out in Spring 2003 and therefore the European Union is under pressure to respond. The EU's response can take a number of forms - from mere condemnation of terrorist attacks and groupings to specific initiatives aimed at protecting Europeans from terrorist attacks in the future. Background The EU's response in the wake of 11 September Even before the two planes hit the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001, several EU initiatives against terrorism were already underway based on the experiences of some Member States who had suffered at the hands of domestic groups, such as ETA and the IRA, for decades. At the Tampere Summit in October 1999, European leaders had agreed to increase judicial cooperation between Member States in order to fight crime, including terrorism. But progress had been very limited due to the huge differences in the criminal justice systems of the various Member States. So frustrated was the European Parliament, by the lack of progress on the Tampere items, that it produced an own-initiative report on terrorism in July 2001, which made a number of recommendations as to how the European Union should step up its fight against international terrorism. The 11 September attacks tragically provided the impetus that the European Parliament had been calling for to press forward with EU initiatives. In the immediate aftermath of the atrocities, the European Union issued a statement condemning the attacks and offering its support to the United States. The unusual step of convening an extraordinary European Council was also taken and this met on 21 September 2001 to 'analyse the international situation following the terrorist attacks in the United States and to impart the necessary impetus to the actions of the European Union'. In its conclusions, the Council, not only declared its solidarity with the United States, but set out a five point plan of action to combat terrorism. The main initiatives were:
The action plan also noted that a peaceful solution in the Middle East on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions should be made a priority of the EU, the United States, the Russian federation and its partners in the Arab and Muslim world. It also called for further development of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and for the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) to be made operational in order to make EU policy more effective. In parallel to the work of the Council, the European Commission adopted two proposals on 19 September 2001 [IP/01/1284] to ensure the EU has the common instruments necessary to tackle terrorism. Firstly, the European Commission called for a common definition of acts of terrorism and penalties on a commensurate scale [COM(2001) 521]. The European Commission proposed that a specific list of offences be treated as acts of terrorism where they are committed intentionally by individuals or groups against one or more countries or their institutions or population and that such acts incur prison sentences ranging from a minimum of 2 years for the less serious offences to a minimum of 20 years for the most serious offences provided for by the proposal. After the European Parliament adopted the proposal at its first reading in June 2002, the Council adopted the proposal as a framework decision aimed at combating terrorism on 13 June 2002. Secondly, the European Commission called for a European arrest warrant to be established to replace the traditional extradition procedures [COM(2001)522]. The European arrest warrant would make it compulsory for a person wanted for an offence incurring at least four months' imprisonment to be handed to the judicial authority in the Member State requesting his surrender by which ever EU Member State that person is currently in. The proposal was discussed by the European Parliament at the same time as the first proposal and likewise it was approved at the 1st reading on 6 June 2002. Opposition from the Member States had been widely expected but the proposal was adopted on 13 June 2002 and entered into force on 7 August 2002. The Member States have until 31 December 2003 to implement the framework decision. The European Union's response in the long term Beyond the measures introduced in the aftermath of the US terrorist attacks, the European Union has put the issue of terrorism firmly on its political agenda within many sectors of its day to day work. As such, a number of initiatives are underway to provide a more complete and robust response to the threat of terrorism in the years to come. These efforts can be grouped by theme as follows:
Police and Judicial Co-operation In addition to the two proposals from the European Commission for a European arrest warrant and a common definition of terrorism, which have now been adopted, a number of other measures are underway including:
In the context of the EU's commitment to work closely with the United States in the fight against terrorism, transatlantic co-operation on police and judicial affairs has also been stepped up. Europol and the relevant US authorities signed a co-operation agreement on 6 December 2001 and a second, more controversial, agreement concerning the exchange of personal data is currently being negotiated. The EU is also engaged in talks with the United States to establish closer co-operation with Eurojust and the relevant US authorities and to strengthen co-operation between the relevant law enforcement authorities in the United States and in each of the EU Member States. Finally, EU justice ministers have agreed to begin negotiations with the US on closer co-operation on extradition and mutual legal assistance. More information on these specific initiatives can be found on the European Commission's DG Justice and Home Affairs 'Terrorism - the EU on the move' page. Air transport security The nature of the US terrorist attacks emphasised the need to ensure tighter air security at all EU airports but it also hit the European airline industry hard, as people became more nervous about flying. In this context, the European Commission proposed a double package for air transport - one the one hand it sought to support the industry in areas such as insurance, unfair competition and financial competition, whilst on the other it launched new initiatives to increase security and prevent terrorist acts. These measures were outlined in a Communication, adopted by the European Commission on 10 October 2001, which explored the situation of the industry, gave an overview of measures taken by Member States and looked specifically at the way the US was reacting. Based on this analysis, the Commission made, concrete proposals for enhanced air security rules and outlined areas of action in a number of fields, including air transport insurance, state aid management, slots, capacity co-ordination and third country relations. The European Union also called on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to organise a special conference in February 2002 to discuss the matter of security. The conference led to the adoption of:
Economic and Financial Measures One key aim of the EU in the fight against terrorism is to dry up the sources of terrorist funding. At the Ghent European Council on 19 October 2001, the Member States adopted a Directive on money laundering and quickly ratified the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. In addition, the European Commission and the Member States are playing an active role in the work of the Financial Action Task Force, the leading international body in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In October 2001 the FATF adopted a series of recommendations to combat the financing of terrorism. In December 2001, the EU adopted a regulation on the freezing of funds of terrorist organisations and in May 2002 the Member States reached a political agreement on the proposed Directive to counter insider dealing and market manipulation. Emergency preparedness In order to be prepared in the event of a terrorist attack, the EU has also sought to enhance civil protection and increase the protection of public health from bio-terrorist attacks. Since 11 September 2001, the European Commission has promoted discussions on preparedness for bioterrorist threats. Health ministers have met several times to discuss EU-wide co-ordination of efforts. Each Member State has appointed a senior representative to discuss these measures, forming a Health Security Committee. The EU already has a communicable disease network, but a Monitoring and Information Centre providing for immediate response in the case of major emergencies 24 hours a day has also been established. In November 2001, EU health ministers agreed to a set of priorities to establish a health expert consultation mechanism, strategies on availability and stocks of serums vaccines and antibiotics and a European network of experts for evaluating managing and communicating risks. To ensure that the appropriate medicinal treatment is available a 25 point programme was agreed by the Health Security Committee, which emphasises the need to ensure that laboratory expertise and capacity is made available to cope with high-risk agents and complex technology and methods, as well as a surge in demand for analyses in case of threats or attacks. Proper and safe arrangements are being put in place for transportation of samples, reagents and specimens and for field investigation teams to analyse relationships between cases, establish common environmental exposures and co-ordinate additional case finding. This is key to determining potentially exposed groups of people who would require antibiotic prophylaxis, vaccination and / or monitoring depending on the agent. At the international level, a concerted global action to strengthen the public health response to the threat of international biological, chemical and radio-nuclear terrorism was agreed in Ottawa in November 2001 by the G7 Health Ministers, together with Mexico and EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Byrne. The WHO is a key partner in this effort. Risk assessment and management methodologies are being prepared within this framework and exercises are organised to test current response plans In the field of civil protection, the EU is strengthening its efforts to at protecting European citizens in case of a terrorist attack. It has introduced a Community Wide Civil protection Action that is intended to facilitate reinforced co-operation on civil protection assistance interventions. It entered into force on 1 January 2002 and provides for immediate response and support in the event of major emergencies. On-site intervention teams, experts and other equipment can be dispatched promptly via its Monitoring and Information Centre. There is a comprehensive database with relevant contact details for intervention teams in Member States. Emergency response requests can be dispatched 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Looking to the future, the European Commission has put in place a group of experts to identify means of combating biological and chemical threats. The group has the mandate to draw up an inventory of current research activities in this field; examine how these activities can be best exploited and co-ordinated; and identify what gaps there are and what additional research is needed in the short and long-term. Most of the research needs identified by the Research Expert Group will be addressed within the 6th EU Research Framework Programme (FP6). In particular, the European Commission has launched a prospective study on EU vulnerable sides and weaknesses in front of potential bio-chemical terrorist attacks, and a Pilot study on the relationship between scientific advice on bio-chemical terrorism and society at large. Global fight against terrorism Beyond its borders, the European Union has also demonstrated its commitment to the global fight against terrorism through its diplomatic efforts. The EU has incorporated the fight against terrorism into all aspects of the EU's external relations both by horizontal actions and bilateral relations with third countries or regions. Horizontal actions:
Bilateral relations with third countries and regions:
In addition to these measures, the EU is also committed to delivering peace in the Middle East. Not only does is it the biggest donor of financial aid to the Middle East Peace Process, but it also plays an active role in the Middle East Quartet (comprising the EU, the United Nations, Russia and the United States). On 30 April 2003 the Quartet presented a Roadmap for Peace in the Middle East and, despite the deterioration in the situation in the region, continues to levy pressure on all parties to proceed with the Roadmap. Finally, the European Commission has pushed the Member States to present a unified position on the reconstruction of Iraq, following the differences of opinion ahead of the conflict. At the Donors Conference on the Reconstruction of Iraq in Madrid on 23-24 October 2003 the EU pledged 200 million until the end of 2004 from the Community budget in addition to its already extensive humanitarian assistance. With the addition of Member States' bilateral pledges, the European Union will as a whole be contributing some €750m to reconstruction in Iraq over the next year, when its needs are likely to be greatest. Fighting terrorism in the future Some analysts might question what part the EU's role in the Middle East Peace Process and the reconstruction of Iraq have to play in the EU's response to terrorism but they are important because they reflect the European Union's commitment to treat the root causes of terrorism around the world. Over the last two years the EU has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the fight against global terrorism both by its 'domestic' measures and its actions on the international scene. With the focus of the Bush administration increasingly switching to domestic issues and presidential campaigns, the European Commission continues to emphasise the need to broker peace in the Middle East, to establish stability in Afghanistan, and to bring about the successful reconstruction of Iraq. It is perhaps in this way that the EU's response to terrorism will prove the most successful for it is well aware of the need eradicate the tensions around the world which provoke widespread international terrorism. Further information within European Sources Online European Sources Online: Topic Guides
European Sources Online: In Focus
European Sources Online: Financial Times
European Sources Online: European Voice
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions European Commission
Council of the European Union European Parliament
International Organisations
National Organisations
Miscellaneous Organisations
News Organisations
Further and subsequent information on the subject of this In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'terrorism' in the keyword field. Helen Bower Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs, Security and Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
