EU counter-terrorism 20 years after 9/11:“common threat” and “common response”?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The responses of states to terrorism depend crucially on the perception and definition of the challenge by their respective governments. Two decades after the 9/11 attacks it has become normal for EU institutions to publicly assert a similar challenge/response logic. However, with EU Member States still primarily targeted by terrorists, retaining primary competence for protecting their citizens against security threats and disposing exclusively of all operational means it is worthwhile to ask whether this challenge/response logic is actually applicable to the to the EU as such rather than only to its Member States. This article explores, first, whether and in which respects terrorism can be regarded as a threat to the EU as such and, second, to what extent the EU as such has been able to develop counter-terrorism capabilities and action in response to this threat, concluding with an overall assessment of the EU as a counter-terrorism actor.