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EU: Documents: Europol on terrorism in Europe; Terrorism Working Party; report from EU human trafficking conference; evaluation of the Eurojust Decision
14 August 2015
Europol,
Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2015,
July 2015 (pdf, 4.5 MB)
According to an introductory section on 'key judgments and trends':
"The overall threat to EU security is likely to increase. While most terrorist attacks in the EU were carried out by separatist groups in 2014, they were generally small-scale, and have continued to decline in numbers in recent years. The main concern reported by EU Member States (EU MS) is the phenomenon of jihadists travelling to and from conflict zones, which has enhanced the capabilities and the resolve of religiously inspired terrorist individuals and groups to perpetrate terrorist acts in the EU. This was evidenced by the completion of an attack in May - carried out by a religiously inspired individual who had returned from the conflict in Syria - that resulted in the death of four people."
These were apparently the only deaths caused by terrorism in the EU in 2014.
The report has chapters on:
religiously-inspired terrorism;
ethno-nationalist and separatist terrorism;
left-wing and anarchist terrorism;
right-wing terrorism; and
single-issue-terrorism.
Terrorism Working Party, Summary of discussions on 14 July, 11055/15, 22 July 2015 (pdf)
This document outlines some of the work being undertaken by the Council's Working Party on Terrorism. The topics covered:
1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Presentation of the Luxembourg Presidency and its programmes for TWP [Terrorism Working Party] and COTER [Working Group on Terrorism - Internal Aspects]
3. Information by the Presidency (update on implementing recent Council conclusions relating to terrorism)
4. Latest incidents of signficant interest - Information from Member States
5. INTCEN programme (EU RESTRICTED)
6. TE-SAT Report 2015 and The Dumas Group
7. The Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN)
8. Radicalisation - hotlines
9. Western Balkans counter-terrorism initiative - state of play
10. Information on counter terrorism activities
11. AOB
Eurojust, Strategic meeting on trafficking in human beings - outcome report, 11185/15, 27 July 2015 (pdf)
"The strategic meeting on trafficking in human beings (THB) was organised by Eurojust in The Hague on 16 and 17 April 2015 as part of Eurojust’s strategic project on THB. Over the course of the two days, prosecutors, judges, law enforcement authorities and THB experts analysed the challenges posed by the investigation and prosecution of THB cases. The participants included practitioners from the Member States, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and the United States of America, as well as representatives of the European Commission, Europol, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the University of Cambridge, Western Union and Facebook.
"The focus of the strategic meeting was how to strengthen and improve cooperation between national judicial authorities in the fight against THB. In particular, the meeting analysed challenges encountered in obtaining evidence from victims of THB and in prosecuting THB cases for the purpose of labour exploitation. It also examined judicial cooperation issues related to the use of JITs, the gathering and admissibility of e-evidence, the use of special investigative techniques, as well as financial investigations in THB cases. Last but not least, it analysed the value of Eurojust’s involvement in THB cases and identified other areas where Eurojust could assist Member States.
"Prior to the strategic meeting, Eurojust circulated two questionnaires on THB, one addressed to the judicial authorities in the Member States, Norway and Switzerland and a second addressed to the National Members at Eurojust. Based on the responses to the questionnaires, Eurojust carried out an analysis and prepared a report. The report summarised the preliminary findings of the analysis and was distributed to all participants to provide background information for the strategic meeting. The report, finalised after the meeting, is presented in the Annex.
"The two-day strategic meeting consisted of plenary presentations and workshops that addressed specific aspects of THB. The following summary reflects participants’ input and comments."
Evaluation of the implementation of the Eurojust Council Decision, 11260/15, 29 July 2015 (pdf)
Eurojust is the EU's judicial cooperation agency. It describes its role as follows:
"Eurojust stimulates and improves the coordination of investigations and prosecutions between the competent authorities in the Member States and improves the cooperation between the competent authorities of the Member States, in particular by facilitating the execution of international mutual legal assistance and the implementation of extradition requests. Eurojust supports in any way possible the competent authorities of the Member States to render their investigations and prosecutions more effective when dealing with cross-border crime." (Eurojust, Missions and tasks)
The evaluation, by consultancy firm EY (formerly known as Ernst & Young) examined:
"the implementation of the 2008 Eurojust Council Decision;
"the impact of the 2008 Eurojust Council Decision on the performance of Eurojust in terms of achieving operational objectives;
"the effectiveness and efficiency of Eurojust's activities."
The main findings of the evaluation include:
"Practical implementation at the Member State level is still a work in progress, limiting overall effectiveness";
"Overall, the 2008 Eurojust Council Decision has reinforced the organisation's effectiveness, but the added value of certain measures is still to be determined";
"Eurojust continues to excel in its operational work, benefiting from strong relationships built with National Authorities";
"Eurojust's effectiveness beyond its immediate casework is limited by insufficient strategic clarity":
"[G]overnance could be streamlined through greater delegation"; and
"Eurojust is actively supporting EU priorities, although it should continue to assert itself as a more proactive actor in this respect".