EU anti-terrorist cooperation and civil issues with reference to Spain and Britain

Abstract

The main goal of this research is to grasp a better understanding on how exactly Europe is reacting to the problematic aspect of international terrorism. After the attacks of 9/11 it seems as if terrorism has changed into a new context, not only for the United States but even for Europe. For some countries, especially with reference to the United Kingdom and Spain, their main preoccupation is the problem and intrusion of international terrorism on their grounds. Regional terrorism is still deeply rooted in both of these European states, however, after the attacks in Madrid on 11 March 2004 and the recent London bombings on 7 July 2005, the political dimension has been extended and widened to deal with the issue of international terror organizat10ns and Muslim extremism. However, as seen in this thesis, the approach in both of Spain and Britain is different from each other in terms of combating terrorism. One should not think that even though they have different reactions and approaches terrorism is not on their political agenda. Combating terrorism is not the only problem for countries which were targeted against but even for other countries to prepare beforehand just in case attacks do occur. This research goes into detail as to how one's civil liberties are affected when terrorist attacks necessitate counter measures. Even though the EU is made up of twenty five states and should be heard with one voice, there are still some different opinions if civil liberties should be sacrificed or not in tenns of security.