The EU’s work
to tackle terrorism

In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US in 2001, the EU established its “terrorist list”, identifying people, groups and entities involved in acts of terror and subject to restrictive measures. Since 2016, the EU can freeze the assets and ban travel of terrorists associated with Al-Qaida and Islamic State groups.

The battle to starve terrorist groups of funds has continued in recent years. The EU introduced tougher rules on money laundering – making it harder to hide funds behind fictitious companies - and longer sentences for those who break them.

Strict rules around ownership of the most dangerous weapons have been adopted across all member states, with some semi-automatic firearms banned altogether from civilian use. Firearms components must now be more easily traceable, while dealers are required to register transactions electronically.

After guns that fire blanks – more usually seen in TV and theatre – were found to have been reconverted for murderous use in the Paris attacks of 2015, such weapons were made subject to the same rules as other firearms. Meanwhile, further directives have placed tighter controls on the sale of substances used to produce home-made explosives, along with new rules on reporting suspicious financial transactions.

To address the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters, the EU has broadened the definition of what is considered a terrorist offence to include travelling to, from or within the EU to join a terror group, raising funds for them or undertaking terrorism training. This has meant that EU action can better target the whole network. 

In the wake of the bombings of trains in Madrid, in 2004, the EU recognised greater cooperation was needed to prevent further attacks. European leaders agreed therefore to establish the position of an EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to coordinate and drive forward Europe’s response to the threat from terrorists. This response could be seen in the weeks following the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan in 2021, when the coordinator, working closely together with competent national authorities, identified areas of action to address possible terrorism risks to Europe’s security.

The coordinator’s role is crucial to ensure member states’ work to fight extremism is joined up. He presents policy recommendations to the Council and is charged with making sure the EU counter-terrorism strategy is properly implemented across the EU.

Of course, the threat from terrorism does not start and end at the European borders. The security of citizens is directly affected by what happens elsewhere.  The EU continues to work in partnership with international organisations and non-EU countries to share information aimed at keeping citizens safe around the world, and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator plays an important role in this work.

For example, after Europol had access to the names of more than 4,500 terrorist individuals detained in northeast Syria, the list was reviewed by member states and entered into the Schengen Information System. Thus European states were able to identify these individuals and prevent them entering their territories.

Meanwhile, the EU’s external action includes supporting nations to improve their judicial systems and law enforcement capacities and build prevention of radicalisation into their security programmes.

Europol and Eurojust support national authorities working together on investigations and prosecutions in the states.

New threats can develop quickly and away from public view, with extremists abusing the social media most of us use to keep in touch with friends and family. The dark web, where activities are even harder to detect and trace, is especially used for disseminating illegal content.

Combating internet radicalisation has increasingly been a focus of European cooperation, with violent extremists and terrorist networks exploiting social platforms for recruitment. In 2015, the EU Internet Referral Unit - based at Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre - was established, with flagging terrorist content among its key duties.

In late 2019, the unit worked with nine online service providers, including Telegram, Google, Files.fm, Twitter and Instagram, to dismantle the Islamic State group’s propaganda network. Some 5,000 terrorist accounts and bots were removed from Telegram alone, and the jihadists have struggled to rebuild their networks ever since.

Voluntary engagement with social networks and video platforms has since then been backed up by an EU regulation giving national authorities the power to order removal of terrorist content within an hour. Coming into force in 2022, it places a responsibility on hosting service providers to take measures preventing the misuse of their services for extremist purposes.

Offline radicalisation continues in certain communities, with prisons often a fertile recruiting ground for extremist networks. Reports in the Netherlands suggest jail time presents an opportunity for jihadists to form new networks. In 2020, at least five jihadist attacks in Europe involved recently released convicts.

The EU’s Radicalisation Awareness Network brings together police, prison and probation officers, and social care workers to share expertise on prevention of radicalisation. The network investigates why youngsters or members of certain communities and neighbourhoods are vulnerable to radicalisation, and what action can be taken to protect them.

Sharing information is crucial in tracking terrorist activity across borders and the EU has made it easier for national law enforcement agencies to exchange data. 

Closer cooperation has paid increasing dividends. Between 2015 and 2019, the number of people linked to terrorism in the Europol database increased by 267%. Another resource - the Schengen Information System, which was developed to assist security and border management in Europe – will soon allow more information on terrorists to be shared, with Europol included on alerts from national authorities. And for law enforcement purposes, EU member states grant each other direct access across borders to specific DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration databases.

Details of airline passenger itineraries, baggage, contact and payment details which are collected when people fly to and from the EU are passed by the airlines to national authorities. These can be crucial in tracing those perceived as a threat and for the prosecution of terrorists.

It is important to connect the dots and prevent identity fraud. The perpetrator  of the Berlin Christmas market attacks in 2016 used 14 different identities, for example. To address this and allow better cross-checking of data, six EU data systems used for law enforcement and border security will be made interoperable. For this purpose, new tools are in development, including a European search portal that will allow authorities to search multiple information systems simultaneously using biographical and biometric data. A common identity repository will store the identifying data of non-EU citizens, while a biometric matching service will enable fingerprints and facial images to be cross-checked against several systems. Additionally, a multiple identity detector will alert authorities when biometric data indicates identity fraud. All this while safeguarding fundamental rights. 

Crime and terrorism increasingly leave digital traces that can be crucial to prosecutions. So the EU is working on legislation to create pan-European orders allowing authorities of a member state to obtain e-evidence from internet service providers, regardless of their location.