About: Gilles de Kerchove

Under Dutch and Danish pressure, EU hits Iran with sanctions after murder plots

The EU hit Iran’s intelligence services with sanctions on Tuesday (8 January) after accusing Tehran of being behind plots to assassinate regime opponents on Dutch, Danish and French soil. The move by the 28-nation bloc was announced as the Dutch government said it...

EU counter-terrorism chief: Europe ‘may see something like Daesh 2.0’

The level of terrorist threat remains "pretty serious" in several EU countries, Gilles de Kerchove, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator, told EURACTIV.com in an interview hours before the latest attack in Strasbourg on Tuesday night (12 December).

Two years after the Brussels attacks, the terrorist threat remains very real

Returning foreign fighters, along with home-grown radicals, are heightening concerns that further attacks could be afoot. Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek and Amanda Paul argue there is room to beef-up security measures without creating a “police state” and maintaining respect for individual rights and liberties.

Trans-Europe Express: Erdogan is bad for everyone

He never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. So went the Abba Eban-penned 1973 slogan used to describe the late PLO chief, Yasser Arafat, who was routinely blamed for failing to secure peace with Israel.

Terrorists can’t access weapons, EU anti-terrorist coordinator says after Spain attacks

The European Union's anti-terrorist coordinator Gilles de Kerchove said that the "modus operandi" of the cell that acted in Catalonia underlines the achievements of law enforcement in Spain and the EU in preventing terrorists from accessing firearms. EURACTIV Spain reports.

EU starts systematic checks at external borders today

Europeans will face systematic checks at the external borders of the EU's Schengen area beginning on Friday (7 April) under legislation designed to tackle "foreign fighters" returning from Iraq and Syria.

Commissioner warns of ‘growing menace’ of right-wing terrorism in EU

EXCLUSIVE/ EU Security Commissioner Julian King warned of the ‘growing menace’ of violent, right-wing extremism, as a possible backlash against the ongoing attacks by jihadists.

EU anti-terror czar: ‘The threat is coming from inside Europe’

A year after the Brussels attacks, Gilles de Kerchove told EURACTIV.com about the fast pace of development of EU security policy, calling for the “systematic use of biometrics” and “batch comparison” of databases in order to boost security in the Schengen area.

EU leaders silent on growing risk of an ISIS chemical attack

Plans to address the risk of a terrorist attack with non-conventional weapons are not part of the EU summit on 17-18 December, despite the growing risk of a such an attack by ISIS on European soil, according to analysts and EU institutions.

Paris attacks give EU leaders excuse to get tough on refugees

Reports of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the gunmen who died in Friday night's attacks may change attitudes towards migrants across Europe. The EURACTIV network reports.

EU counter-terrorism czar: Terrorists among asylum seekers? Unlikely

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.

EU anti-terrorism chief: Communications should be accessible to security services

The European Union should consider forcing Internet firms to help security services tap into coded emails and calls as part of a new strategy to combat militant attacks, the EU counter-terrorism coordinator says.

Paris to hold emergency summit of European Ministers

European and American Home Affairs Ministers will assemble in Paris on Sunday 11 January, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack, for an emergency meeting on counter-terrorism measures. EURACTIV France reports. 

EU anti-terror chief warns of Al Qaeda resurgence in Europe

Wary of being upstaged by even more ruthless Islamic State fighters, Al Qaeda may try to demonstrate its relevance by carrying out attacks in Europe, the United States or Israel, the European Union's counter-terrorism coordinator said on Wednesday (24 September).

De Kerchove: ‘We must help the Americans close Guantanamo’

The European Union has engaged in in-depth discussions with the United States over the last three years to harbour prisoners detained in the controversial US Guantanamo centre in Cuba, EU counter-terrorism chief Gilles de Kerchove revealed in an exclusive interview with EURACTIV.