|
EU Adopts Maginot Wall for Terror
Leaders are expected to adopt a Declaration on Combating Terrorism. This was drawn up by EU interior ministers on 19 March - a week after the Madrid bombings - and then adopted by foreign ministers on 22 March. Here are the key elements: EFL* the adoption of a "solidarity clause" from the draft EU constitution which provides for mutual assistance in the event of a terrorist attack * the integration of an intelligence structure on terrorism within the Council Secretariat. High Representative Javier Solana will be charged with presenting a report to the June European Council on how this might be achieved. (It will not be a "European CIA" as suggested by Belgium and Austria) * make counter-terrorism a key element of political dialogue when agreeing on external programmes with third countries. (This means that aid and trade could be affected if a country is not deemed to have cooperated sufficiently) As I pointed out the other day, the European "multilateral" approach will be purely defensive. It will rely on better coordination between police and intelligence agencies for the most part. There will be limited use of wealth transfer and sanctions to incentivize/disincentivize nations that fund or tolerate the operation of terror groups. There will be a bureaucratic coordinating body at the EU level that will add additional paperwork and probably be as useful as the Department of Homeland Security. It will be as easily flanked and turned as its predecessor 65 years ago. Posted by: 11A5S 2004-03-25 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=29059 |