About: foreign fighters Archives

The European institutions reached an agreement yesterday (30 November) on a directive that is aimed at better equipping the EU with instruments to counter terrorism. But civil rights groups warned that it risks undermining fundamental freedoms.

At least 3,000 EU citizens have left for conflict zones in Syria and Iraq to fight for Islamic State. Some received training in Balkan countries, according to a Europol report which has raised alarm in the Czech Republic. EURACTIV.cz reports.

The European Parliament endorsed today (7 July) the Commission's proposal to establish a European Border and Coast Guard Agency, beefing up the existing Frontex, a move acclaimed by the major political groups, but decried by the Greens and the leftist GUE/NGL because of its new powers.

Poor information sharing between security services is one of the great shortcomings of European cooperation. About 5,000 Europeans are thought to have joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, but only 1,615 appear on Europe’s official list.  EURACTIV Spain reports.

The fight against radicalisation has so far received the smallest contribution from the EU security budget, despite pledges by European Union leaders to prioritise the issue following the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.

One of the Brussels attackers was caught in Turkey in June last year and deported to the Netherlands as a foreign fighter, but Belgium let him loose, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday (23 March).

European diplomats, led by EU Ambassador to Washington David O'Sullivan, have warned of potential retaliation against the United States, after Congress passed a bill excluding EU travelers deemed by Washington to be a risk.

Italian and Kosovo police have detained four Kosovo citizens allegedly linked to the Islamic State group (IS) for spreading Islamist propaganda and for making threats against Pope Francis and a former US ambassador.

The refugee crisis is a major challenge by itself. If you start mixing it with terrorism, you confuse the logic, EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove told EURACTIV Czech Republic in an exclusive interview.

Russia has bolstered its espionage activities in European states during the course of the Ukraine crisis, according to findings of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). EURACTIV Germany reports.

EU member states have reacted in different ways to the security threat highlighted by the Paris terrorist attacks, pointing to how difficult it would be to put in place a common European response to the challenge. The EURACTIV network reports.

Under a new draft law, German authorities could soon be able to confiscate the IDs of suspected terrorists. But opposition parties in the Bundestag warn against considerable risks for security policy. EURACTIV Germany reports.