COUNTER-TERRORISM: EU AGREES STRATEGY FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 004294

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER KCRM EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: COUNTER-TERRORISM: EU AGREES STRATEGY FOR
COMBATING RADICALIZATION AND RECRUITMENT

SUMMARY
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1. EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers (JHA
Council) on December 1 agreed on a "EU Strategy for
Combating Radicalization and Recruitment to
Terrorism," including by disrupting the activities
of networks and "ensuring that voices of mainstream
opinion prevail over those of extremism." The
ministers also concurred on a broader new EU Counter-
Terrorism Strategy to be endorsed by EU leaders at
their December 15-16 meeting. The ministers also
approved the outlines of a Framework Decision for
improving information exchange between law
enforcement authorities, in particular as regards
serious offences including terrorist acts. Further
December 2 discussions of specific issues, including
draft legislation on the retention of telecom data,
will be reported SEPTEL. Full texts of Council
conclusions and main CT-related documents mentioned
in this report have been transmitted to EUR/ERA.
END SUMMARY.

EU COUNTER-TERRORISM STRATEGY
--------------


2. Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs on
December 1 concurred on a new EU Counter-Terrorism
Strategy to be formally endorsed by their leaders at
their December 15-16 European Council meeting. The
new strategy was designed:

-- To provide a "clear and coherent framework" for
the EU's CT work, and to lay out objectives for
action, and

-- To make Europe's work on Counter-Terrorism more
understandable to the average citizen. The
strategy will be presented in a series of
PowerPoint slides followed by a narrative with
a visual layout that "should help with this
second function in particular."


3. Speaking at a press conference, UK Home
Secretary/Council Chair Charles Clarke presented the

SIPDIS
new strategy as "a major step forward for the EU,"
though admitting that the real test will come with
implementation. He said the upcoming Austrian and
Finnish presidencies were "absolutely committed to
carry the work forward." Clarke said the strategy
covers four strands of work:

-- PREVENTION: "To prevent people turning to
terrorism by tackling the factors or root
causes which can lead to radicalization and
recruitment, in Europe and internationally"
(see below);

-- PROTECTION: "To protect citizens and
infrastructure and reduce our vulnerability to
attack, including through improved security of
borders, transport and critical
infrastructure";

-- PURSUIT: "To pursue and investigate terrorists
across borders and globally; to impede
planning, travel, and communications; to
disrupt support networks; to cut off funding
and access to attack materials, and bring
terrorists to justice"; and

-- RESPONSE: "To prepare ourselves to manage and
minimize the consequences of a terrorist
attack, by improving capabilities to deal with
the aftermath, the coordination of the
response, and the needs of victims."

COMBATING RADICALIZATION AND RECRUITMENT
--------------


4. As part of the broader CT Strategy and Action
Plan, the Council agreed for the first time on an
"EU Strategy for Combating Radicalization and
Recruitment to Terrorism." This paper builds on a
March 2004 communication by the Commission and
further work conducted under four successive
presidencies. Based on the recognition that
addressing this challenge is "beyond the power of
the governments alone" and that "Al-Quaida and those
inspired by them will only be defeated with the
engagement of the public, and especially Muslims, in
Europe and beyond," the strategy sets out to combat
radicalization and recruitment under key headings as
follows:

-- Disrupting the activities of the networks and
individuals who draw people into terrorism;

-- Ensuring that voices of mainstream opinion
prevail over those of extremism: addressing
"motivational" factors that can lead
individuals to become radicalized;

-- Promoting yet more vigorously security,
justice, democracy and opportunity for all:
addressing "structural" factors that create the
socio-economic environment in which the radical
message becomes appealing both inside and
outside the EU;

-- Increasing the understanding of the phenomenon
and developing the response appropriately.


5. The strategy asserts that throughout its
implementation, governments will "ensure respect for
fundamental rights." Speaking to the press,
Commission Vice-President Frattini, laid great
stress, as in many of his public interventions over
the past few weeks, on his "balanced approach"
between "enhancing the security of the Union" and
"preserving the high standards of protection of
fundamental human rights in line with the European
Convention on Human Rights and the EU Charter of
Fundamental Rights."


6. Speaking to reporters, CT Coordinator Gijs de
Vries said: "We are facing a dual threat: a threat
from people who come to Europe from the outside, and
a threat from people who live in Europe, some of
them first-generation migrants and some of them born
here." To illustrate his point that EU coordination
was essential, the CT Coordinator referred to the
police raids conducted in Belgium November 30
against terror suspects believed to have links to a
network that sent volunteers to Iraq. De Vries also
rebutted suggestions of any linkage between poverty
and terrorism: "There are many people inside Europe
and elsewhere living in difficult conditions and
they do not strike into terrorism."


7. Swedish Justice Minister Tomas Bodstrom sought
to appease concerns that the strategy might be
perceived as pointing fingers at Muslims. Bodstrom
told reporters that as long as responsible
authorities kept repeating that the measures target
criminals, and nobody else, it should be obvious
that the EU does not wish to accuse any particular
religious group. Bodstrom also said: "We should not
have to apologize for combating terrorism, and the
methods we use we have to be able to defend openly."
Asked by his domestic press whether Spanish police
would survey mosques to make sure radical
interpreters of Islam do not recruit attendants,
Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said
"the controlling of terrorism has to be done where
it is created, be it in a phone shop or a mosque."
Alonso also called for more efforts on the aftermath
of terrorist attacks, suggesting the creation of a
special European agency for assisting the victims of
terrorism. "We need to hand out concrete help, not
only nice political statements," he said.

IMPLEMENTATION OF EU CT ACTION PLAN
--------------


8. The Council noted the six-month report from
Coordinator de Vries on the implementation of the EC
CT Action Plan, which will also be forwarded to the
European Council. The third report of this kind
includes an update on key dossiers highlighted at
the special July 13 JHA Council following the London
attacks (USEU BRUSSELS 2688). "A number of
instruments which have been adopted have still to be
implemented by all member states, in some cases
preventing their entry into force in the Union," the
report said. An annex to the report shows the state
of implementation by member states of the agreed EU
legislation (scoreboard).

INFORMATION EXCHANGES BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT
AUTHORITIES
--------------


9. In a Mixed Committee with Schengen partners
Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, ministers agreed on
a "general approach" on the Framework Decision on
simplifying the exchange of information and
intelligence between law enforcement authorities, in
particular as regards serious offences including
terrorist acts. The Framework Decision will ensure
that certain information vital for law enforcement
authorities is exchanged in a rapid manner within
the EU. Member states should respond within at most
8 hours to urgent requests for information and
intelligence regarding offences referred to in the
2002 EU Framework Decision on the European arrest
warrant, including terrorist acts.

OTHER REPORTS
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10. Among other decisions taken without discussion
December 1, the Council:

-- Endorsed a report by the Presidency and CT
Coordinator de Vries on EU crisis coordination
arrangements to assist Member States during
cross-border emergencies;

-- Approved a report on the evaluation of national
arrangements improving CT machinery and
capability;

-- Noted the CT Coordinator's regular report on
the fight against terrorist financing;

-- Noted a report on technical modalities to
implement the principle of availability
of information on six areas: DNA, fingerprints,
ballistics, vehicle registration, telephone
numbers and identification of persons;

-- Noted the second annual report of the European
network for the protection of public figures;

-- Adopted conclusions on the protection of
critical infrastructure;

-- Adopted conclusions on a Code of Conduct to
prevent the misuse of the non-profit/charitable
sector by terrorists;

-- Noted the 2005 EU report on organized crime;

-- Noted a report containing recommendations
addressed to France, Ireland, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, UK and Europol on exchange of
information and intelligence relating to the
fight against organized crime.


11. Further information on these items and reports
is available from the JHA Council conclusions
(http://ue.eu.int/press) and EU Council register of
documents, using references from these conclusions
(http://register.consilium.eu.int/servlet).

MCKINLEY