ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the end of a book about the EU and the fight against terrorism, it is useful to revisit the key explanations concerning the very need for an EU counterterrorism policy. Notwithstanding the importance of the treaty basis for the EU’s security role in general, the preceding chapters have shown that the very nature of the EU as a borderless area makes it easier for terrorists to operate in a pan-European mode, which means that no EU Member State can effectively protect its citizens alone. Specifically, the still nationally fragmented national jurisdictions, law enforcement agencies and intelligence services in Europe offer many loopholes, which can be relatively easily exploited by terrorists whose networks, finances and operations are in some cases more Europeanized than the EU itself. An effective EU counterterrorism policy is therefore needed to avoid the ultimate nightmare scenario of European security officials, “that if they fail to coordinate their efforts, or if they fail to exchange crucial information, a partner country in the EU will fall victim to a terrorist attack.” 1 This final chapter summarizes both the bad and the good news for those losing a good night’s sleep over these types of scenarios. It then concludes with my personal assessment of the future prospects of the EU counterterrorism policy.
