COUNTER-TERRORISM IN EU EXTERNAL ACTION

As is the case with the EU’s foreign policy and external action in general28, EU external action on counter-terrorism encompasses a wide range of different policies and instruments, decision-making and policy-making processes as well as actors and administrative cultures. In this report, EU external action on counter-terrorism is divided into four main branches, which correspond to the four frameworks of EU external action at large.29 Those are the following:

1. The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), a key politi-cal and diplomatic framework for EU foreign policy;

2. The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), as part of the CFSP, providing a framework for EU military and civil-ian missions and the development of military and civilcivil-ian capabilities;

3. Other external action, whose most important forms, from the point of view of counter-terrorism, include development cooperation, neighbourhood policy and enlargement policy;

4. The external dimension of the work of the EU’s internal secu-rity actors, whose importance has increased particularly in the 2010s.

The CFSP is the key political and diplomatic framework for EU for-eign policy, within which EU Member States ‘coordinate, define and implement’ the EU’s foreign and security policy.30 The CFSP framework addresses a broad range of foreign policy issues, including security and defence policy issues within the CSDP area. Under the CFSP, the EU defines its foreign and security policy positions and possible actions in relation to individual geographical or thematic issues, and may impose sanctions or make decisions concerning CSDP missions.

28 Keukeleire & Delreux 2014, 14–18.

29 Ibid.

30 Dijkstra & Vanhoonacker 2017.

JUNE 2020 29

In the fight against terrorism outside the EU borders, the CFSP, and the CSDP as part of it, are important in many respects. They constitute a framework within which the EU adopts policies and makes decisions, for instance, on political dialogues with third countries and certain inter-national agreements with them as well as on CSDP missions, all of which may include counter-terrorism components. Within the CFSP framework, the EU can also make decisions on, for instance, sanctions related to ter-rorism. On the other hand, development cooperation, neighbourhood and enlargement policies, which have become increasingly important also regarding counter-terrorism, do not fall within the scope of the CFSP.

Instead, they form part of the EU’s broader external action, which forms a third central framework for EU external action on counter-terrorism.

The fourth framework is composed of the external dimensions of the EU’s internal security policies. This applies, for instance, to the increased role of internal security agencies, such as European Law Enforcement Agency (Europol), Eurojust and, above all, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), outside the EU.

Of the policy areas mentioned above, the CFSP and the CSDP are strongly in the hands of the EU Member States. The decisions concerning them are prepared primarily in the structures of the Council of the Euro-pean Union, composed of representatives of the Member States, under the guidance of the capitals of the Member States. The Council is responsible for decision-making, and most decisions require the unanimity of the Member States. In the preparation and coordination of CFSP and CSDP issues and their alignment with other EU policies, the High Representa-tive of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the External Action Service under his/her direction will support the Member States and the Council.

In other areas of external action, the European Commission, alongside the Member States and the Council, is a key actor, as it has the exclu-sive right of initiative regarding EU legislation and manages significant financial instruments. In its activities, the Commission can rely on the extensive administrative machinery of the different Directorates-General.

The European Parliament (EP) has a significantly smaller role in foreign policy and external action. Its ability to play a role is related to its budg-etary powers, the powers to conclude certain international agreements and the regular dialogue with other institutions.31 However, in the CFSP and CSDP in particular, the Parliament’s role is very small.

In decision-making concerning the external dimension of internal security policies, the Member States acting through the Council, the

31 Keukeleire & Delreux 2014, 85-88.

30 JUNE 2020

Commission and the EP, acting as co-legislator in many fields, all play an important role. Other important actors in the external dimension of internal security are the individual EU agencies, which support the EU institutions in the preparation and implementation of various policies. Key agencies in the field of counter-terrorism include in particular Europol, Eurojust, which works on legal issues, and Frontex, which will grow rap-idly in the coming years. The agencies operate somewhat independently within their mandate, but their decision-making mechanisms include representatives of the Member States, which allows the Member States to influence their activities. Key actors in the EU’s external action on counter-terrorism are discussed in more detail in Chapter 3 of this report.

In terms of the EU’s fight against terrorism as a whole, the Member States’ own national actions, which may strongly overlap with the actions of the EU, are also particularly important, although some of them are also clearly distinct from those of the Union. However, the external action taken by individual Member States in the field of counter-terrorism is largely outside the scope of this report, as it would not have been possible to cover this dimension within the time limits set for this project. In terms of the role of the Member States, it is worth noting that there is no single platform or tool for coordinating the strategies, policies and actions of the EU and the Member States in the external fight against terrorism. In practice, coordination is therefore highly contextual and case-specific, mostly taking place within the Council of the European Union and its sub-structures.

2

JUNE 2020 35

2. DEVELOPMENT OF THE EU’S EXTERNAL