The EU's counter terrorism policy

Abstract

In this thesis I propose to analyze the main security threats which the EU is facing today, especially as some of these threats are more pressing than others. The terrorist threat is going to be the focus of this work and I intend to focus on the EU's counter terrorist measure adopted to counter such a threat. Some of the mentioned threats are a legacy from the cold war while others are a result of the fast changing world and the technological developments that are taking place. Chapter 1 deals with the aspects of the direct physical security threats to the EU. The successive threat explores id the proliferation of WMD's, and then I move to the position of rogue states which cannot be ignored. We can move to analyze the position of military powers such as, Russia, China, India and Pakistan. The last part of the chapter deals with nonconventional security threats such as cyber terrorism, immigration, environmental hazards etc. The last part covers the terrorist threat which introduces terrorism as the most pressing threat to the EU with the involved implications. Chapter 2 will focus entirely on terrorism and its relationship with the EU. We look at numerous attempted definitions of terrorism, the history of terrorism, the types of terrorism which have targeted the EU such as Classical, Modem and Mega terrorism which can be ideologically, religiously or politically motivated. In this chapter we also go into the main changes which characterize terrorism at the present time. Particular attention will be given to Islamic terrorism with a reference to Al-Qaeda and the link it has to the EU and explore the origins and motivations of such terrorism. This chapter will demonstrate the importance of terrorism as a real security threat to the EU which demands well devised and comprehensive anti-terrorism policies. Chapter 3 will focus on two case studies of two European Union Member states which have a long history of dealing with terrorist activity of all types as mentioned in chapter 2. These are Italy and Spain where terrorism was and still is a security threat. This chapter explores how both states reacted to terrorism through legislation and how national anti terrorism policies may have affected the EU to formulate its own policy. This chapter covers about 30 years of policies which involved the interaction of the mentioned states with the EU. Chapter 4 speaks about the EU's anti-terrorism policy from the earliest attempts such as the Trevi groups to the latest and most important steeps such as the European Arrest Warrant. This chapter focuses on the main developments which took place in the last 40 30 years especially post September 11 and post Madrid and London Attacks. It brings out the effectiveness, worthiness, of the policies devised for a more secure EU. The most important achievements are highlighted with the same intensity as the steeps which characterized the whole EU's Counter terrorism Policy and might have differentiated its attempts from other international actors. Chapter 5 brings together the main arguments as mentioned and discussed in this thesis. One can find the conclusions that the EU is facing numerous security threat, among them terrorism which proved to be the most pressing and dangerous for the stated reasons. This reality pushed the EU to take action with the aim to counter terrorism and reduce its negative effects. The EU' s counter terrorism policy at first looks not conventional but it is producing important results. The Member states, became convinced that terrorism can be defeated only through the coordination of all efforts with the EU and the relevant partners. It is recognized that more policies are needed and the EU already set up infrastructures which will guarantee a continuous anti-terrorist interest for more effective policies.