Terrorism continues to be a significant global challenge that has forced nations across the world to design and implement counter-terrorism policies. The European Union and the US are at the forefront of this war considering that most of the terrorist attacks are targeted towards these regions. The two countries align with the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy that was adopted by the United Nations in 20006 to allow mutual reinforcement of counterterrorism measures. An analysis of how the EU and the US establish the similarities and differences in approaches to counter-terrorism.
How the European Union strategy aligns with the Department of Homeland Security missions and goals
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The European Counter-Terrorism Strategy is a platform that guides the 27 member states on the strategies the region could use to defeat terrorists. Kerchove (2013) notes that the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy is guided by four pillars which are: prevent, protect, pursue, and respond. The prevent aspect involves addressing violent radicalization which is the main way of advancing the Al-Qaeda narrative. The second aspect of protecting is advanced by the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure a framework for increasing protection capability for EU members. The EU union strategy aligns with that of the Department of Homeland Security as it emphasizes the need to investigate, prosecute, and convict terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan establishes the need to protect Americans from terrorist threats through detection and disruption (Homeland Security, 2019). The European Union has created EUROJUST and EUROPOL, which are platforms that allow for operational and strategic exchanges among judicial authorities and law enforcement. The DHS has adopted the same approach to counterterrorism by sharing intelligence with its stakeholders, partners, and senior leaders to avert terrorism.
Examples of EU policies and procedures that are different or the same as the US strategy
The European Union just like the US is committed to the war against terrorism that continues to be a global challenge. The two regions belong to the UN meaning they adopt similar strategies and cooperate on an international level. Kerchove (2013) notes that the US is a key partner for the EU in the fight against terrorism that poses similar threats. The Mutual Legal Assistant and Extraction Agreements is an EU-US legal framework that allows for the cooperation between law enforcement and operational judicial. The EU and the US conduct regular ministerial-level dialogues on Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) issues (Kaczmarek et al, 2018). In as much as the US and the EU cooperate on the war against terrorism, the two entities have different policies that are tailored for each region. The two regions have varied policies when it comes to information and data collection and sharing as outlined in the Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreements(Cole & Fabbrini, 2016). Each of the regions has autonomous policies that are aimed at protecting their territories that face unique terrorism threats.
Assessment of how the European Union and US programs address the common terrorist threat
The EU and the US have formulated policies that address the common terrorist threats that face these regions. The two entities have continually supported each other in terms of creating an international legal framework that could be used to wage war against terrorism. Kerchove (2013) establishes that in 2009, the EU developed a framework that helped the US to close down Guantanamo Bay while respecting international law. The US Department of Homeland Security through its Strategic Plan has contributed to this effort by sharing actionable intelligence with the EU, which is a US key partner. The sharing of information allows the EU and the US to use innovative technologies to detect terrorist threats and counter them before they attack these regions. The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy allows these two regions to cooperate to come up with strategies that could address terrorism as front-runners in the war against terrorism.
References
Cole, D., & Fabbrini, F. (2016). Bridging the transatlantic divide? The United States, the European Union, and the protection of privacy across borders. ICON, 14 , 220–237
Homeland Security. (2019, July 5). Strategic Planning . https://www.dhs.gov/strategic-planning
Kaczmarek, M., Lazarou, E., Guevara, M., & Fogel, B. (2018). US counter-terrorism since 9/11
Trends under the Trump administration. European Parliamentary Research Service. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/621898/EPRS_BRI(2018)621898_EN.pdf
Kerchove, G. D. (2013). International cooperation in counterterrorism. In David Kamien (Ed.), McGraw-Hill homeland security handbook: Strategic guidance for a coordinated approach to effective security and emergency management (pp. 1357- 1365). McGraw-Hill.
