ABSTRACT
In 1986 members of the European Community were to take unprecedented steps to augment their capacity to act in concert in the attempt to combat terrorism. The response to the Libyan terrorist incidents and more especially to the US retaliatory moves highlighted the complex problems involved in formulating and implementing concerted Community action on foreign and security issues. The Libyan debacle in 1986 was to end such wariness; the Community was to name publicly those states which its members broadly considered to be sponsors of terrorism. Important as the step to name states sponsoring terrorism was for the Community, this was to be but one element in an anti-terrorism package that embraced both punitive and defensive measures. The problem for the European Community lay in preserving in theory and practice its independence from the US on Middle East issues while broadly condoning tighter anti-terrorist measures.
