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EU: External aspects of counter-terrorism policy: overview of Council working party discussions in first half of 2019

20 August 2019

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External aspects of counter-terrorism policy: overview of Council working party discussions in first half of 2019
20.8.19

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The COTER working party within the Council of the EU is "the main advisory body to the Council in the field of CT [counter-terrorism] and P/CVE [preventing/countering violent extremism] external aspects". A document circulated to delegations by the outgoing Romanian Presidency of the Council at the end of June outlines the work undertaken by the group in the first half of the year, concerning "strengthening the links between the internal and external dimensions of security", "bringing partners with the EU closer together" and "promoting the mainstreaming of the counter-terrorism issue".

See: Overview of the COTER activities during the first semester of 2019 (10812/19, 28 June 2019, LIMITE, pdf)

One point concerns the "use of internal EU security tools in priority third countries or regions":

"The Presidency sees great value in the targeted use of internal EU security tools in priority third countries or regions, and in exploring new ways to make best use of them for supporting the EU external action. As a proof-of-principle for its approach and in order to apply results of the discussions in practice, the Presidency has prepared a dedicated discussion on EU cooperation and engagement in the Western Balkans, from a comprehensive perspective, during the TWP/COTER meeting on 20 March 2019. The state of play of CT and P/CVE efforts in Western Balkans was outlined both by EU institutions (Commission, EEAS, INTCEN, Europol), but also by detailed presentations from regional EU CT/security expert from the EU delegation in Sarajevo and regionally focused organizations and platforms (WBCTi-platform and the Regional Cooperation Council)." (emphasis added in all quotes)

Statewatch has published a number of Council documents on this issue in recent years:

• EU Western Balkan counter-terrorism initiative: integrative plan of action (4 December 2015, 13887/15, pdf)
• Joint Action Plan on Counter-Terrorism for the Western Balkans to be signed on behalf of the EU with Western Balkans Partners (5 September 2018, 11848/18, pdf)
• Joint Action Plan on Counter-Terrorism for the Western Balkans(24 September 2018, 12411/18, pdf)

As part of the cooperation with the Western Balkans, the Commission is in the process of making "arrangements" with the authorities of six states for the implementation of the Action Plan. At the end of July, discussions with at least two of those states - Albania (11344/19, pdf) and the Republic of North Macedonia 11343/19, pdf) - were ongoing.

The value of INTCEN (The EU Intelligence Analysis Centre) and EU SATCEN (Satellite Centre) is noted in the COTER document:

"As it was widely noticed during the meetings, we made extensive use of EU IntCen presentations. It is our belief that any good debate on a certain topic should have a solid background. On this basis, member states can interact or take informed decisions. Up to a point, the terrorist incidents document served the same purpose. A special note of appreciation goes to IntCen experts for sharing their knowledge with us and for presenting the overview of the threat assessment.

The dialogue we had with EU SATCEN uncovered a potential that can be developed further in this line of work. The inputs from Europol were also widely appreciated."

On INTCEN, see: Secrecy reigns at the EU's Intelligence Analysis Centre (pdf, January 2013)

The working party is also looking at "new ways of financing terrorist activities":

"COTER has been exposed during the first semester of 2019 to presentations focusing on new ways of financing terrorist activities, provided by EU SATCEN, Europol and Interpol. The use of cryptocurrency, smuggling artefacts and cultural heritage were given proper attention. The speakers pointed out that, from the counter-terrorism perspective, the protection of cultural goods is relevant not only as a form of terrorist financing, but also as a protection against a direct attack on the cultural values of humanity. Continuing the debate on ideology at COTER meetings yielded concrete results taken forward by the CTC."

And:

"We also explored potential new threats coming from actors that are not necessarily in the spotlight. The main terrorist attacks with EU citizens as victims were discussed in the COTER meetings."

See: Overview of the COTER activities during the first semester of 2019 (10812/19, 28 June 2019, LIMITE, pdf)

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