Europol's fledgling counterterrorism role

Terrorism and Political Violence

Volumn 20, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 498-517

  Bures, Oldrich ^a  

^a METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY PRAGUE   (Czech Republic)

Author keywords

Coordination; Counterterrorism; European Union; Europol; Informal arrangements; Intelligence; Terrorism

Indexed keywords

EID: 53549092751     PISSN: 09546553     EISSN: 15561836     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09546550802257218     Document Type: Article

References (108)

1. Mathieu Deflem, "Europol and the Policing of International Terrorism: Counter-Terrorism in a Global Perspective," Justice Quarterly 23, no. 3 (September 2006): 336-359;
2. J. Peek, "International Police Cooperation Within Justified Political and Judicial Frameworks: Five Theses on TREVI," in Jörg Monar and R. Monar, eds., The Third Pillar of the European Union (Brussels: European Interuniverstity Press, 1994), 201-207;
3. G. Rauchs and D. J. Koenig, "Europol," in D. J. Koenig and D. K. Das, eds., International Police Cooperation (New York: Lexington Books, 2001), 43-62.
4. Paul Wilkinson, Terrorism and the Liberal State (London: Macmillan, 1986), 292.
5. Juliet Lodge, "Terrorism and the European Community: Towards 1992," Terrorism and Political Violence 1, no. 1 (January 1989): 30.
6. For further information, see Meliton Cardona, "The European Response to Terrorism," Terrorism and Political Violence 4, no. 4 (Winter 1992): 252-253;
7. Oldrich Bures, "EU Counterterrorism Policy: A Paper Tiger?" Terrorism and Political Violence 18, no. 1 (Spring 2006): 58-59.
8. Peek (see note 1 above), 201.
9. Juliet Lodge (see note 3 above), 42.
10. Ibid.
11. Peter Chalk, "The Third Pillar on Judicial and Home Affairs Cooperation, Anti-Terrorist Collaboration and Liberal Democratic Acceptability," in Fernando Reinares, ed., European Democracies against Terrorism: Governmental Policies and Intergovernmental Cooperation (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2000), 175.
12. Article K.1. After subsequent Treaty of Amsterdam revisions, Article 29.
13. Doron Zimmermann, "The European Union and Post-9=11 Counterterrorism: A Reappraisal," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 29, no. 2 (2006): 126.
14. John Howell & Co., Independent Scrutiny: The EU's Efforts in the Fight Against Terrorist Financing in the Context of the Financial Action Task Force's Nine Special Recommendations and the EU Counter Terrorist Financing Strategy (European Commission, Feb. 2007), 20.
15. Anastassia Tsoukala, "Democracy against Security: The Debates about Counterterrorism in the European Parliament, September 2001-June 2003," Alternatives: Global, Local, Political 29, no. 4 (August-October 2004): 29.
16. In October 1995, for example, the Council adopted the La Gomera Declaration, which "affirmed that terrorism constitutes a threat to democracy, to the free exercise of human rights and to economic and social development." Council of the European Union. Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on Combating Terrorism, EN 2002=475=JHA 0003, article 2.
17. Wilhelm Knelangen, "Die Innen- und Justizpolitische Zusammenarbeit der EU und die Bekämpfung Des Terrorismus," in Erwin Müller and Patricia Schneider, eds., Die Europol's Fledgling Counterterrorism Role 513 Europäische Union Im Kampf Gegen Den Terrorismus: Sicherheit vs. Freiheit (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2006), 142.
18. Council of the European Union, "Conclusions and Plan of Action of the Extraordinary European Council Meeting on 21 September 2001" (September 2001) available at (accessed 12 Oct. 2005).
19. For a recent review of all major aspects of the EU counterterrorism policy, see the special issue of Journal of Common Market Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2008).
20. Council of the European Union. Council Decision of 3 December 1998 Instructing Europol to Deal with Crimes Committed or Likely to Be Committed in the Course of Terrorist Activities Against Life, Limb, Personal Freedom or Property, EN 30/01/1999.
21. Europol, "Fact Sheet on Europol 2007," (European Union, 2007) available at , (accessed 12 Jul. 2007).
22. Deflem (see note 1 above), 340.
23. Rauchs and Koenig (see note 1 above), 45-46.
24. John D. Occhipinti, The Politics of EU Police Cooperation (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003), 149, 165-166.
25. Statewatch, "'Scoreboard' on Post-Madrid Counter-Terrorism Plans," (Statewatch, 2004) available at (accessed 23. Mar. 2004).
26. Council of the European Union. Council Decision of 19 December 2002 on the Implementation of Specific Measures for Police and Judicial Cooperation to Combat Terrorism in Accordance with Article 4 of Common Position 2001/931 /CFSP, EN 2003/48/JHA 0068.
27. Council of the European Union, Council Common Position Concerning Additional Restrictive Measures Against the Taliban, EN 27/02/2001.
28. Council of the European Union (see note 15 above).
29. Monica Den Boer, Claudia Hillerbrand, and Andreas Nölke, "Legitimacy Under Pressure: The European Web of Counter-Terrorism Networks," Journal of Common Market Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2008): 110.
30. Nora Bensahel, "The Counterterror Coalitions: Cooperation with Europe, NATO, and the European Union," (RAND, 2003) available at (accessed 14 Jan. 2005).
31. Deflem (see note 1 above), 345.
32. Europol, "An Overview of the Counter Terrorism Unit Activities," (Jan. 2006) available at (accessed 21 Feb. 2007).
33. Deflem (see note 1 above), 346.
34. Jonathan Stevenson, "How Europe and America Defend Themselves," Foreign Affairs 82, no. 2 (March/April 2003): 87.
35. Nicola Vennemann, "Country Report on the European Union," in Christian Walter et al., eds., Terrorism as a Challenge for National and International Law: Security Versus Liberty? (Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, 2003) available at (accessed 14 Feb. 2004).
36. In 2007, Europol had a staff of about 530 and a budget of 68 million. In comparison to the FBI's almost 30,000 employees and $6 billion annual budget, Europol remains miniscule.
37. Kristin Archick, "Europe and Counterterrorism: Strengthening Police," (CRS, 2002) available at , (accessed 23 Jul. 2005).
38. Jitendra Joshi, "After Madrid, EU's Nascent Anti-Terror Strategy Under Focus," Agence France Presse, < Lexis Nexis News Search > , 15 Mar. 2004.
39. France, for example, has a centralized system, whereas Germany works on a more fragmented federal level. France has robust laws for detaining terrorist suspects and judges specifically trained to deal with the cases, but others do not.
40. European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 16 June 2004: Towards Enhancing Access to Information by Law Enforcement Agencies, COM(2004) 429 Final.
41. Deflem (see note 1 above), 351.
42. Björn Müller-Wille, "The Effect of International Terrorism on EU Intelligence Cooperation," Journal of Common Market Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2008): 57.
43. Also see Ole R. Villadsen, "Prospects for a European Common Intelligence Policy," Studies in Intelligence 44, no. 9 (Summer 2000): 81-94.
44. Bensahel (see note 27 above), 40.
45. Quoted in Archick (see note 34 above), 9.
46. Deflem (see note 1 above), 348.
47. Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 67.
48. Magnus Ranstorp and Jeffrey Cozzens, "The European Terror Challenge," BBC News available at (accessed 24 Mar. 2005).
49. Björn Müller-Wille, For Our Eyes Only? Shaping an Intelligence Community Within the EU. Occasional Papers No. 50 (Paris: Institute for Security Studies, January 2004), 26.
50. Council of the European Union, (see note 51 below), 19.
51. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 35.
52. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 36.
53. Daniel Keohane, "The Absent Friend: EU Foreign Policy and Counter-Terrorism," Journal of Common Market Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2008): 128.
54. The Police Working Group on Terrorism (PWGT) was set up in 1979 by Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Belgium, following the assassination of the British ambassador to Ireland in 1976. For more information, see Paul Swallow, "Transnational Terrorism: Police, Interpol and Europol," in Oldich Cerny and M. Edmonds, eds., Future NATO Security: Addressing the Challenges of Evolving Security and Information Sharing Systems and Architectures (Amsterdam: ISO Press, 2004), 74-76;
55. J. Benyon, "The Developing System of Police Cooperation in the European Union," in William F. McDonald, ed., Crime and Law Enforcement in the Global Village (Cincinnati, OH: Anderson, 1997), 103-122.
56. Council of the European Union, "Provisional Findings of the Two 'Peer Evaluation' Mechanisms Affecting the Union Fight Against Terrorism," (Statewatch, 2004) available at (accessed 26 May 2004), 19.
57. The Club of Berne was created already in 1971. Although it can act as an interface between the EU and the heads of MSs' security and intelligence services on terrorist matters, this has never been its primary purpose. Rather it has focused on direct operational cooperation. Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 56.
58. Annegret Bendiek, "EU Strategy on Counter-Terrorism," (German Institute for International and Security Affairs, November 2006) available at , (accessed 19 Jan. 2008), 21;
59. Deflem (see note 1 above), 349. There is nevertheless, an agreement on information exchange between the CTG and the EU's Joint Situation Centre. See Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 56.
60. Sandra Lavenex and William Wallace, "Justice and Home Affairs: Towards a European Public Order?" in Hellen Wallace, William Wallace and Mark Pollack, eds., Policy-Making in the European Union (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2005), 466.
61. Statewatch, "G6 Conclusions: Meeting of the Interior Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, Heiligendamm, 22-23 March 2006," available at (accessed 22 Jan. 2008);
62. European Union Committee UK House of Lords, "After Heiligendamm: Doors Ajar at Stratford-Upon-Avon," 5th Report of Session 2006-2007, available at (accessed 20 Apr. 2008).
63. Keohane (see note 49 above), 128.
64. Monica Den Boer, Claudia Hillerbrand, and Andreas Nölke, "Legitimacy Under Pressure: The European Web of Counter-Terrorism Networks," Journal of Common Market Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2008): 118.
65. Thierry Balzacq et al., "Security and the Two-Level Game: The Treaty of Prüm, the EU and the Management of Threats." CEPS Working Document No. 234 (Center for European Policy Studies, January 2006) available at (accessed 15 Jan. 2008), 6-7.
66. Den Boer, Hillerbrand, and Nölke (see note 57 above), 103.
67. Ibid.
68. Ludo Block, "Decentralization Trends in European Union Police Co-operation: Implications for Efficacy and Accountability." Paper presented at the Third Challenge Training School, CEPS, Brussels, 13-14 April 2007;
69. Tanja Börzel, "Organizing Babylon: On the Different Conceptions of Policy Networks," Public Administration 76, no. 2 (1998): 253-273.
70. See for example Daniel Benjamin, "On Multilateral Counterterrorist Organizations," The NYU Review of Law & Security, Special Issue (Summer 2005): 15, available at (accessed 4 Jan. 2008); Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 35-36.
71. Cited in Den Boer, Hillerbrand, and Nölke (see note 57 above), 104.
72. Den Boer, Hillerbrand, and Nölke (see note 57 above), 120.
73. Edwards and Meyer, "Introduction: Charting a Contested Transformation," Journal of Common Market Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2008): 18. Out of the total of 11 legislative measures on the initial post-9/11 EU counterterrorism "roadmap," only the investigation of immigration and asylum policy with regard to terrorist threats represented a new item that had not been on the agenda in one form or another before 9/11.
74. Raphael Bossong, "The Action Plan on Combating Terrorism: A Flawed Instrument of EU Security Governance," Journal of Common Market Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2008), 39-40.
75. Ibid.
76. John Peterson and Elisabeth Bomberg, Decision-Making in the European Union (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999).
77. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 36.
78. Den Boer, Hillerbrand, and Nölke (see note 57 above), 119.
79. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 36.
80. Balzacq et al. (see note 58 above), 17.
81. Den Boer, Hillerbrand, and Nölke (see note 57 above), 119.
82. European Union Committee UK House of Lords (see note 55 above).
83. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 36.
84. Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 33.
85. Intelligence division of the European Military Staff (INTDIV), The European Union Satellite Center (EUSC), Joint Situation Center (SITCEN).
86. Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 31.
87. Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 35.
88. Müller-Wille (see note 45 above), 56.
89. Müller-Wille (see note 39 above), 12.
90. Ibid.
91. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 4.
92. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 18.
93. European Commission, "Towards Enhancing Access to Information by Law Enforcement Agencies," 10745/04 (2004) available at (accessed 20 Dec. 2006).
94. European Union Committee UK House of Lords, "After Madrid: The EU's Response to Terrorism," 5th Report of Session 2004-05, available at (accessed on 17 Apr. 2008).
95. Ibid.
96. The First Pillar is the European Community, where decisions are most often taken by qualified majority voting and involve all of the EU institutions. The Second Pillar is the Common Foreign and Security policy (CFSP) and the Third Pillar is the area of JHA. In both of these pillars, decisions are taken by the Council alone and each MS has the right of veto. If ratified in its current form, the Lisbon treaty would merge the First and Third Pillars together.
97. John Howell & Co. (see note 11 above), 31.
98. Zimmermann (see note 10 above), 132.
99. Bensahel (see note 27 above), 40;
100. Zimmermann (see note 10 above), 135.
101. European Commission, "Proposal for a Council Decision Establishing the European Police Office (EUROPOL)," (Statewatch 2006) available at (accessed 17 Apr. 2008).
102. The Council Decision is expected to be finalized in June 2008. European Union, "Press Release - 2838th Council Meeting, Justice and Home Affairs, Brussels, 6-7 December 2007," PRES/07/275, available at (accessed 15 Jan 2008).
103. Cited in Edwards, Geoffrey, and Christoph O. Myer (see note 65 above), 9.
104. Keohane (see note 49 above), 128.
105. European Union Committee UK House of Lords, "After Madrid: The EU's Response to Terrorism," 5th Report of Session 2004-05, available at (accessed on 17 Apr. 2008).
106. For a detailed analysis, see Björn Müller-Wille (see note 39 above).
107. European Union Committee UK House of Lords (see note 96 above).
108. Müller-Wille (see note 45 above), 58.