Legal Regulation of the Fight Against Terrorism within the EU

Abstract

At present, the problem of terrorism has ceased to be a predominantly external threat to the EU. At the beginning of the 21st century, the geography of terrorist attacks has expanded and increased significantly in frequency. In this regard, the fight against terrorism has taken a special place in the EU policy. Despite the limited powers in the field of law enforcement, many efforts are being made at the EU level to develop a mechanism to counter terrorist activities. Anti-terrorism policy includes a variety of means, among which are special legal measures, the development of which was carried out exclusively or primarily for the purpose of combating terrorism. The present work aims to study the special legal tools for combating terrorism that form the EU anti-terrorist legislation. Anti-terrorism legislation is a central component in the system of measures to prevent terrorism in the EU, it does not replace the relevant provisions of the national law of the EU. Its task is to develop common standards for combating terrorism, as well as to ensure the uniform application of international legal means of counter-terrorism in the EU. The EU anti-terrorism legislation consists of two key components: measures to harmonize criminal and criminal procedures, as well as measures to combat the financing of terrorism. Both directions have been developed in line with the implementation of international standards to combat terrorism, which, in turn, were the result of the reaction of the international community to the strengthening of terrorism in the West. The main impetus for the development of EU anti-terrorist legislation should be the events of September 11, 2001 and the strengthening of terrorist activity in 2015-2016 in the EU.