Tensões na Luta Contra o Terrorismo na Europa:

Análise Crítica aos Desenvolvimentos Nacionais e Europeus em 2015 e 2016

Abstract

Over the past two years, and more than in the recent decades, several European countries have been the target of terrorist attacks. The transnational nature of these attacks, from their preparation to execution and prosecution, has highlighted the inability of a collective counter-terrorism action at European level, a policy developed at the EU level since 2001. However, in the opposite direction, some developments have been achieved, namely the request of the mutual assistance clause after the Paris attacks and the adoption of the directive on the passenger name record. Nonetheless, measures to prevent and respond to the latest wave of attacks in Europe have been mainly of an internal/national nature, ranging from changes in the national legislation to combat organized crime and terrorism more effectively, to the unilateral suspension of Schengen Agreement for security reasons. In turn, the role of the EU has been relegated to the debate on the balance between freedom, security and justice, and the coordination of the different policies of EU member states. Bearing in mind this framework, this chapter intends to critically review both the latest developments in EU counter-terrorism policy and the internal security measures to address the absence of a combined or more effective European response.