Europe And Counterterrorism

Counter-terrorism law and policy has been prominent and widespread in the years following 9/11, touching on many areas of everyday life from policing and border control to financial transactions and internet governance. The European Union is a major actor in contemporary counter-terrorism, including through its development of counter-terrorism laws for application within the Union. This book undertakes a multi-disciplinary and empirically informed analysis of the impact, legitimacy and effectiveness of EU counter-terrorism. Taking into account legal, societal, operational and democratic perspectives, this collection connects theoretical and practical perspectives to produce an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder study of how we might measure and understand the impact, legitimacy and effectiveness of EU counter-terrorism. Bringing together a select group of experts in the field, particular emphasis is placed on understanding the practical experience of implementing and assessing these measures gathered from and with end users, including law-makers, policy-makers, security services, industry partners and civil society. This edited collection will be of great relevance to scholars and policy makers with an interest in counter-terrorism law, EU law and security studies.

The attacks of September 11 prompted the Bush Administration to improve law enforcement and other co-ordination between the United States and European governments dealing with international terrorism. European governments have also taken measures to enhance co-operation among themselves. Most notable are European Union efforts to enhance cross-border sharing of intelligence and police information, extend the reach of warrants, and strengthen external border controls. Also, immediately following the attacks, there was an unprecedented European co-operation with the US in fighting terrorism. However, by early 2002 the emphasis placed by the Bush Administration on military action beyond Afghanistan, and on strong support for the Sharon government in Israel in its conflict with Palestine, began to raise doubts among some Europeans about the overall US approach to counter-terrorism. Discussed in this book are the efforts that the different European countries are making in response to the new threat of terrorism, as well as the concern that by supporting the Unites States' approach to terrorism, they will inevitably be helping the US pursue broader and more controversial foreign policy goals.

This book traces the evolution of the EU’s fight against terrorism from the late 1970s until the end of the first decade after 9/11. This historical analysis covers both EU-internal and international counterterrorism policies and features an in-depth account of the EU’s reaction to the terrorist incidents in New York, Madrid and London. In the first few weeks after these incidents, the EU mobilised a complex but also incoherent set of policy measures, which significantly influenced the course of European security over the years. From a theoretical perspective, this volume argues that context-specific factors dominated over functionalist considerations in the EU’s fight against terrorism. Building on frameworks from public policy analysis, the author demonstrates that EU institutions played a critical role as policy entrepreneurs, while the many security measures were chosen on the basis of timing rather than significance. Such short-term political dynamics also explain the implementation deficits and persistent imbalances in the EU’s counterterrorism policy; limitations which still hinder its fight against international terrorism. This book will be of much interest to students of EU policy, counter-terrorism, European security, public administration, foreign policy, and IR in general.

The book examines the dynamic of West European terrorism and counter-terrorism as it has evolved since the late 1960s. It assesses past, present and future terrorist trends and analyzes the internal security policies that have been initiated by the member states of the European Union (EU), both singularly and collectively, to combat terrorism in Western Europe. Throughout the book the theme of liberal democratic legitimacy and accountability is stressed, something that is brought particularly to bear on the latest EU internal security provision - the Maastricht Third Pillar.

Terrorism has become one of the major threats facing both states and the international community, in particular after the terrorist attacks in the United States, Madrid and London, which revealed a whole new scale and dimension of the phenomenon. An effective response is absolutely necessary; this response, however, cannot undermine democracy, human rights, the rule of law or the supreme values inherent to these principles.There is no universally agreed definition of "terrorism", nor is there an international Jurisdiction before which the perpetrators of terrorist crimes can be brought to account. The European Court of Human Rights is the first international Jurisdiction to deal with such a phenomenon. For many decades and through more than four hundred cases, it has elaborated a clear, integrated and articulated body of case law on responses to terrorism from a human rights and rule of law perspective. Thus, this is a handbook on counter-terrorism with a special focus on due respect for human rights and rule of law.This book compiles the doctrine laid down by the European Court of Human Rights in this field with a view to facilitating the task of adjudicators, legal officers, lawyers, international IGOs, NGOs, policy makers, researchers, victims and all those committed to fighting this scourge. The book presents a careful analysis of this body of case law and the general principles applicable to the fight against terrorism resulting from each particular case. It also includes a compendium of the main cases dealt with by the Strasbourg Court in this field and will prove to be a most useful guiding tool in the sensitive area of counter-terrorism and human rights.

Although there is a vast body of literature covering the ongoing debates concerning the novelty and gravity of the contemporary terrorist threat, as well as the most appropriate response to it, few authors have thus far analysed the complex set of counterterrorism measures that both the individual Member States and the European Union (EU) have attempted to develop. This volume offers a critical analysis of the measures the European Union has taken to combat terrorism and how, in a number of key areas, EU counterterrorism policy is more of a paper tiger than an effective counterterrorism device. Several legal EU counterterrorism instruments have not been properly implemented at the national level and questions have been raised regarding their effectiveness, appropriateness, and proportionality. The capabilities of EU agencies in the area of counterterrorism remain rather weak and the EU Counterterrorism Coordinator does not have any real powers apart from persuasion. However, this does not mean that EU level action cannot offer any value-added in the fight against terrorism. There are several areas where the EU can provide genuine value-added in the fight against terrorism due to the transnational nature of the contemporary terrorist threat and the nature of a borderless Europe.

The EU has long been seen as confederation that has failed to assert itself effectively on the international stage. In this collection, a series of experts discuss how the EU has shed its reputation as a weak international actor in light of its policies on police cooperation and intelligence-sharing as part of the global effort to combat terrorism

Although there is a vast body of literature covering the ongoing debates concerning the novelty and gravity of the contemporary terrorist threat, as well as the most appropriate response to it, few authors have thus far analysed the complex set of counterterrorism measures that both the individual Member States and the European Union (EU) have attempted to develop. This volume offers a critical analysis of the measures the European Union has taken to combat terrorism and how, in a number of key areas, EU counterterrorism policy is more of a paper tiger than an effective counterterrorism device. Several legal EU counterterrorism instruments have not been properly implemented at the national level and questions have been raised regarding their effectiveness, appropriateness, and proportionality. The capabilities of EU agencies in the area of counterterrorism remain rather weak and the EU Counterterrorism Coordinator does not have any real powers apart from persuasion. However, this does not mean that EU level action cannot offer any value-added in the fight against terrorism. There are several areas where the EU can provide genuine value-added in the fight against terrorism due to the transnational nature of the contemporary terrorist threat and the nature of a borderless Europe.