The safety of Europeans and the security of Europe in 2020 will be marked by four trends in terrorism: the resurgence of ISIS in the Middle East along with the increased risk of terrorist attacks, returning foreign fighters and jihadists facing...
The European Union (EU)’s efforts to counter terrorism have been influenced by various security and geopolitical events. In the beginning of the 21st century, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States revolutionized approaches to addressing...
The evolution of counterterrorism in the European Union (EU) over the past two decades has been reflected at the level of EU member states through their respective national strategies, which have adapted the overall EU counterterrorism posture. While...
The terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004 and in London in 2005 were a turning point for the European Union (EU)’s counterterrorism approach. Both countries were familiar with homegrown terrorism—with Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) in Spain and the Irish...
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler writes: “Today, Europe is facing a resurgent and increasingly complex terrorism threat. Between 2022 and 2024, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL) reports that 206 terror attacks—both foiled and successful—were recorded on the continent, and 1255 individuals were arrested on terrorist-related charges.[1] Put another way, Europe as a whole is experiencing more than one terror attack per week, on average; slightly less than six per month. Moreover, those statistics are assuredly incomplete, since EUROPOL only collates data that is forwarded by its member states.”
Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, renowned terrorism expert and Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project, analyzed the current threat posed by international terrorism. In his keynote speech, he referred to nine attempted attacks in the recent past and identified three key challenges: First, the geopolitical situation, marked by conflicts such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as disinformation campaigns. Secondly, technological developments, with terrorists increasingly resorting to modern technologies and artificial intelligence – for example, to plan attacks or manufacture explosive devices. Thirdly, the legal situation, which, according to Schindler, needs to be fundamentally overhauled in order to effectively counter the current threats.
By Elena Martynova, EU GLOCTER PhD Candidate, Seconded to CEP The previous blog post examined how open-source intelligence (OSINT) has transformed modern counter-terrorism. By analyzing data from public sources such as satellite imagery, social media...
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) has become a key component of modern strategic and operational intelligence work. It is defined as the practice of collecting and analyzing information gathered from publicly available sources, such as newspapers...
"'Was it embarrassing? Absolutely,' said Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project. 'But was it a security threat to the Olympics and its participants? Absolutely not.'
'They’ve done a fairly good job at making sure that everyone at the Games was safe,' he said."
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) released a new report today, Civilian Counterterrorism Forces and the Fight Against Extremism – A Review of Nigeria, Somalia, and Burkina Faso. Local terrorist affiliates of al-Qaeda and ISIS have subjected sub...
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