Conclusion to The European Union as a Global Counter-Terrorism Actor

Abstract

This concluding chapter highlights the main research findings offered by this book. The main aim of this book was to examine the extent to, if any, and the ways in which the EU has become an actor in global counter-terrorism. Thus, this book fills a distinct gap in the scholarship on European security and counter-terrorism. It has shown that the EU's role in external counter-terrorism has indeed been neglected and underestimated. It has highlighted several interesting and important developments not only for EU counter-terrorism abroad, but also with regard to the progress that the EU has made towards becoming a truly global actor with a broad range of capabilities. Over the past two decades, the EU has shown that it can extend its reach beyond trade and economic policy into certain aspects of foreign and security policy, which is a sign that the EU is now a greatly enhanced actor when compared to 2001. Clearly, progress has been impressive - but in cooperation with some countries and in some policy areas more than others. As has been demonstrated here, unprecedented and unexpected counter-terrorism co-operation now takes place internally amongst EU Member States and externally between the EU and third states. However, around two decades after the start of the EU's ‘fight against terrorism', European countries still face significant terrorist threats from many external and internal sources, including Daesh, Al Qaeda, its affiliates, and ‘self-starter' cells, as well as domestic and non-Islamist sources.