Counter-terrorism funding in the EU budget

Intelligence and National Security (e-first 2014)

This article offers a critical assessment of the post-9/11 efforts of the European Union (EU) in the fight against terrorist finances. Using the EU’s own goals from its action plans and counterterrorism strategies as the baseline criteria, it examines how successful the EU has been in implementing the relevant aspects of various United Nations Security Council counterterrorism resolutions, the special recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, and its own measures spanning across all of its three pre-Lisbon pillars. In particular, the article seeks to answer the following questions: (1) What and how much of its own counter-terrorism plans has the EU managed to achieve since 9/11? and (2) What lessons can be learned from the hitherto successes and failures for future EU efforts to counter terrorist financing? Special attention is paid to the thus far neglected role of the private sector in the fight against terrorist financing.

2010

"This article offers an analysis of the European Union’s (EU) efforts in the fight against terrorist finances. Following the 9=11 attacks, the EU has adopted the relevant United Nations counterterrorism resolutions as well as the special recommendations of Financial Action Task Force. In addition, the EU has developed its own measures spanning across all of its three pillars. There is, however, a cause for concern that some of these measures have not been properly implemented, while others have been criticized on legal, transparency, legitimacy, and efficiency grounds. These shortcomings are not only due to EU’s own internal obstacles, but also result from the EU’s uncritical adoption of the prevailing smart sanctions and money-laundering regimes, which are based on a number of unwarranted assumptions that do not reflect the nature of contemporary terrorist threats in Europe."

ADVANCED AND CONTEMPORARY STUDIES IN SOCIAL, HUMAN AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE, 2023

The first step in counter terrorism is to define terrorism. However, there are not any definitions of the terrorism binding the countries legally and internationally. For this reason, international organizations are the most important parts of the counter terrorism. But in this study, the European Union was left aside from the other organizations. One of the reasons for that is the European Union considers counter terrorism inclusively within its common security and defence policy. The other one is, as it has a supranational structure, all the member states must harmonise the policy on countering terrorism of the European Union with their national laws. Moreover, the main starting point of this research is to assess whether the efforts made before 2020 have achieved their goals and to reveal what counter-terrorism efforts have been updated in EU law in the period until 2025. The hypothesis to be tested in the study is that counter-terrorism efforts in EU law are insufficient in the long term. The method used in the hypothesis test is qualitative research method, and the basic texts of EU law have been accessed from official sources. The conclusion is that the EU has brought a range of security threats to its agenda alongside the counter terrorism and needs a simultaneous and comprehensive EU law for countering terrorism.

2016

Terrorism has plague Europe since the early 20th century and has since then change in scope, actors, motives and structure. However, the ECC (now EU) was not as active against this threat as now. The attacks of 9/11 in the United States, the ones in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 were the ones that made the European Union (EU) a more active actor in the fight against terrorism. The recent attacks in Paris in 2015 and Brussels in 2016 have resurfaced fears and concerns over security and efficiency of the policies and actions of the EU. Although it pledged in the early 2000s to implement the U.N’s and terrorism conventions’ resolutions, it did not create separate bodies to deal with the situation like the UN. Instead, it delegated much of the responsibility to the member states and already created institutions such as the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and Europol. But how effective have the efforts been, what have been the EU achievements and setbacks, and how could the E.U improve? Some scholars complain about the lack of consistency and reviews of the efforts, legislations’ reviews, perceive the CTC as ineffectual and lacking power to enforce measures or cooperation. Regardless of these, the EU and members’ institutions have also attained some achievements. Nevertheless, concerns over sovereignty, rule of law, human right issues, cooperation, and refugee crisis still affect counter terror measures efficiency and could affect the integration process of the E.U.

FIIA Report, 2020

Terrorism is one of the most significant security threats in Europe. As it is transnational in character, countering it requires both cooperation between EU member states and widespread external action. This report examines the latter by focusing on the concepts, development, actors and structures, as well as the practices of the EU’s external action on counter-terrorism. The EU’s external action on counter-terrorism is performed in four different frameworks: diplomacy, crisis management, external aid, and the external action of the EU’s internal security agencies. All of these have their own policy-making structures with different actors and mandates, and hence the overall picture is complex. Several ongoing institutional reforms add to the complexity. Although the EU’s external action on counter-terrorism has its challenges and limitations, the EU has shown that it is capable of adapting its approach to changing needs. The EU can add value to the counter-terrorism action of its member states by developing and promoting common concepts and practices, maintaining an overview of the threat, and facilitating cooperation with different partners. However, the EU’s external action on counter-terrorism is dependent on the ability of the member states to agree on common goals and the ability of the different EU actors to coordinate their actions.

Journal of World Sociopolitical Studies, 2022

This article examines the impact of European Union's (EU) Counter-Terrorism Strategy on European security, considering recent developments and challenges. This investigation seeks to answer two pivotal questions: (1) How do varying counterterrorism approaches impact the effectiveness of European security measures against terrorist threats? (2) How does cooperation or divergence in counter-terrorism strategies influence Europe's broader security environment? The research explores key developments in European counter-terrorism cooperation and analyzes the effects of regional cooperation on European security dynamics, drawing on empirical evidence from recent terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations. Findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive and coordinated European counter-terrorism strategy, which addresses immediate security concerns and long-term drivers of radicalization and extremism. The research utilizes the method of Library Resources and Documentary Research, analyzing existing literature, academic publications, reports, and relevant documents related to counter-terrorism strategies, European security, and the interplay between terrorism and counter-terrorism in the region. The article also presents a theoretical framework of institutional cooperation to understand the implications of counter-terrorism strategies on European security. It highlights the significance of intelligence sharing, legal harmonization, capacitybuilding, and addressing challenges within regional and international collaborations.

Research Papers in Economics, 2011

European Union policy to counter terrorist financing is marked by uncertainty about causes and consequences. The paper addresses the role of evaluations of the effectiveness and efficiency of counter terrorist financing policies performed by international standard setting organizations in such a policy environment. It is found that assessments of effectiveness have shaped counter terrorist financing, but partially in a way biased towards their extension without strong evidence of their effectiveness. Assessments of the comprehensiveness of a regulatory framework and its implementation have been frequent while evaluations of the impact of activities on terrorist activities are largely lacking. As a result, there is much pressure to expand activities in the field without much knowledge about their impact. Considerations of financial and non-financial costs of counter terrorist financing measures have limited their extension, albeit again rarely based on evidence of their effectiveness...

Studia Politologiczne, 2022

This article examines legal, institutional and knowledge-based aspects of counterterrorism policies developed by the European Union in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001. It focuses on selected areas in which progress has been made in the framing of the EU's strategies, policies and actions. The following case studies are included: counter-terrorist legislation, especially the framework decision and directive on combating terrorism; the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator as an institutional intermediary within the EU's institutional architecture and in the external dimension of counter-terrorism cooperation; Europol's TE-SAT report as an instrument of strategic awareness-building, which has facilitated the explaining of the nature of terrorist threats across the EU. The main assumption underpinning this paper is that the EU has managed to ensure an uneven yet constant development of counter-terrorism measures which have contributed to a more effective fight against terrorism.

Perspectives on European Politics and Society 14, no. 3 (2013): 325-338., 2013

"The post of European Union (EU) counter-terrorism coordinator (CTC) has often been seen as ineffectual. However, this article argues that such a critical assessment of the post of EU CTC is due to a significant extent to an over-emphasis on the internal dimension of the EU CTC’s activities. Consequently, it suggests focusing on the external dimension of the EU CTC’s work, which has often been largely overlooked. For that purpose, it develops an international actorness analytical framework. On that basis, the article demonstrates that, despite the limitations inherent to this post, the EU CTC is already significantly advanced in the process of establishing himself as a fully-fledged counter-terrorism actor on the international stage. Evidence shows that he is increasingly considered an important component of the external dimension of the EU counterterrorism policy by both member states and third states and bodies."

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09546550500174905, 2007