U.S.-EU Counterterrorism Cooperation

The international community needs to apply multiple capabilities in a strategy designed to tackle more effectively the threats posed by the convergence of transnational criminal networks and terrorist groups, U.S. officials say. The United States will emphasize this theme and the impact of related issues on national security — along with the U.S. Strategy to Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy, the U.S. policy to deny refuge to corrupt officials, and other initiatives — at the October 30-November 2 International Anti-Corruption Conference in Athens, Greece. David Luna, the director for anti-crime programs at the State Department’s Bureau of International and Law Enforcement Affairs, heads the U.S. delegation to the meeting organized by nongovernmental groups. So far, according to Luna, transnational crime — such as narco-trafficking, kleptocracy and arms smuggling — and international terrorism mostly have been viewed as separate threats.

The United States and the European Union released a joint press statement on Visa Waiver Program talks at the U.S.-EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial in Brdo, Slovenia, on March 13, 2008. (Photos & more)

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth L. Wainstein and European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini met April 5, 2007, in Berlin with Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble and Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries of Germany, current holder of the rotating EU Presidency. The Portuguese state secretaries of justice and internal affairs, José Conde Rodrigues und Dr José Madalhães, represented the upcoming Portuguese EU Presidency. Their talks focused on counter-terrorism, data protection and visa issues as well as EU policy in the field of criminal law. From left, sitting: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, and Viktor Ivanov, Aide to the Russian President. Standing: Russian Interior Minister Rachid Nourgaliev, Vice President of the European Commission Franco Frattini, Director General of the EU Council Ivan Bizjak. Photo: U.S. Embassy Berlin While in Berlin, Chertoff also met with his German, Russian and EU counterparts. He was joined by U.S. Ambassador to the EU C. Boyden Gray and Kenneth Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and other members of the U.S. delegation. They discussed U.S.-EU-Russian cooperation in areas of common concern, most notably security issues.

2008: United States Focuses on Corruption-Terrorism Connection (Oct 22, 2008) | Seven Nations to Join U.S. Visa Waiver Program (Oct 17, 2008) (Bush Remarks; Fact Sheet) | Defense Secretary Gates Remarks at U.S. Institute of Peace (Oct 16, 2008) | Defeating Terrorism Requires Common Goal, Strategic Effort (Oct 8, 2008) | Ambassador Dailey on International Partners in War on Terrorism (Sep 12, 2008) | Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 (May 2008) (Europe and Eurasia Overview; Briefing) | U.S.'s Chertoff, Belgium's De Gucht Discuss Terrorism, Data Privacy at GMF Event (Mar 16, 2008) | Joint U.S.-EU Statement on Visa Waiver Program Talks (Mar 13, 2008) | U.S., Germany Agree to Share Fingerprint Databases and Terrorist Information (Mar 11, 2008) | U.S. Counterterrorism Director Discusses Looming Challenges, Concerns (Feb 13, 2008) | NATO Defense Ministers Prepare for April Summit (Feb 13, 2008)

(left to right) Commission Vice President Franco Frattini, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Civil Liberties Committee Vice Chair Philip Bradbourn, and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble address the press after a meeting with the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee in Brussels on May 14, 2007. Photo: Barry Bahler, Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff reached out May 14, 2007, to members of the European Parliament and the media in Brussels in an effort to allay European concerns about the collection of airline passenger data as part of the U.S. fight against terrorism. In remarks before the Parliament's Civil Liberties committee, he said that access to this information had been crucial to helping prevent terrorist acts. If such data been available ahead of the September 11 attacks, he noted, U.S. authorities would have been able to find links between 11 of the 19 suicide hijackers. (Video/Audio)

Homeland Secrurity Secretary Chertoff (third from left) Addresses the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee in Brussels, Belgium, on May 14, 2007. Photo: Barry Bahler, Department of Homeland Security When he was in Brussels, the U.S. and European Union were in the process of negotiating a accord on the transfer of passenger name records (PNR), to replace an interim agreement that expired July 31 (subsequent announcement of agreement; text). "It is difficult in the face of that clear tragic lesson of history to abandon a tool which at minimal cost of civil liberty has the tremendous potential to save lives," Chertoff, who appeared with Commission Vice President Franco Frattini and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, told the members of parliament. Chertoff also discussed the visa waiver program and mentioned that the U.S. was working on an electronic traveler security system that would involve travelers sending information to U.S. authorities via the internet before beginning their trip.

2007: Secretary Chertoff: U.S., EU Will Continue Debate on Balance Between Security and Liberty (Dec 18, 2007) | Secretary Chertoff Discusses the Emerging Transatlantic Consensus on Security, Fighting Terrorists (Nov 29, 2007) | Federal Register Notice of U.S.-EU Exchange of Letters on Terrorist Finance Tracking Program/SWIFT (Oct 23, 2007) | Commission Vice President Frattini on "The External Dimension of Security, in Particular the Fight against Terrorism" (Oct 18, 2007) | Stable Afghanistan Vital to Central Asia, Europe, United States (Sep 27, 2007) | U.S. Mission's Murray Discusses the U.S.-European Security Relationship (Sep 20, 2007) | Marking the Sixth Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks (Sep 11, 2007) | Special Briefing by Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend (Jul 17, 2007) (Fact Sheet) | U.S., EU Reach Agreement on SWIFT Terrorist Finance Data (Jun 29, 2007) | U.S., EU Focus on Making Terrorist Finance Sanction Procedures Fair and Transparent (Jun 18, 2007) | Secretary Chertoff Discusses Travel Procedures, Privacy in Der Spiegel Interview (June 11, 2007) | Homeland Security's Chertoff Addresses European Parliament Committee on Data Transfer, Privacy (May 14, 2007) (Video/Audio) (Secretary Chertoff's Letter to the Civil Liberties Committee) | Press Conference with U.S.'s Chertoff, Commission's Frattini and Germany's Schaüble (May 14, 2007) (Video/Audio) | Homeland Security's Chertoff Discusses Data Privacy, Transfer in Media Roundtable (May 14, 2007) | Germany's Schäuble on Close EU-U.S. Counterterrorism Cooperation (May 14, 2007) | Homeland Security's Chertoff Discusses Fight Against Terrorism, Travel Documents, Privacy (May 3, 2007) | German Presidency Press Release: U.S., EU Discuss Counterterrorism Efforts, Passenger Data Protection (Apr 5, 2007) | Treasury Cautious About Terrorist Finance Data Collection Program (Jan 22, 2007) | Treasury Report on Reporting of Cross-border Wire Transfer Data (Jan 17, 2007)

Attorney General Gonzales, Austrian Interior Minister Prokop, and European Commissioner Frattini meet at the U.S.-EU Ministerial Troika on Justice and Home Affairs in Vienna on May 3, 2006. Photo: Council of the European Union The United States, well aware that Europeans have suffered terrorist attacks for decades, seeks strong trans-Atlantic cooperation to defeat terror networks, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told European ministers May 5 in Vienna, Austria. “We are safer today, but we are not yet safe,” Gonzales said of the multinational campaign against terrorism. He addressed a conference of European Union interior ministers in the Austrian capital. “We turn to the European Union, and to the nations gathered here today, for help and support,” Gonzales said. “We look to your experiences and lessons-learned, and we study what you do.” Gonzales acknowledged that many Europeans consider terrorism a criminal problem, not a military matter. “Many of you, and your citizens, have suffered at the hands of terrorists far longer than the United States,” Gonzales said. Myriad groups, from al-Qaida and the Red Brigade to the “Continuity IRA” and ETA (the Basque separatist group) all have comparable goals – “perpetual violence designed to undermine democracy and the rule of law.” (Remarks)

2006: DHS's Rosenzweig on U.S. Homeland Security Priorities in 2007 (Dec 20, 2006) | U.S., EU Sign EUROJUST Pact on Transnational Crime (Nov 11, 2006) (Press Conference Transcript) | Finnish Presidency Press Release on U.S.-EU Ministerial in Washington (Nov 6, 2006) | SWIFT Press Release on Belgian Report on Financial Data Transfer (Sep 28, 2006) | State Department Legal Advisor Examines U.S.-European Counterterrorism Cooperation (Sep 11, 2006) | U.S., Allies Cooperating To Enhance Security, U.S. Official Says (Sep 8, 2006) | U.S. Defends Use of SWIFT Bank Messaging System to Track Terrorists (Jun 23, 2006) (Terrorist Finance Tracking Program Factsheet, statements by Treasury's Snow and Levey, and Levey congressional testimony) | U.S.-EU Summit Declaration (Jun 21, 2006) and 2006 U.S.-EU Summit Progress Report on Political and Security Issues | Legal Advisor Bellinger in Brussels Says CIA Flights Overstated, Welcomes Ideas for Guantanamo (May 9, 2006) | U.S. Seeks Europe's Aid in War on Terror, Justice's Gonzales Says (May 5, 2006) (Remarks) | Austrian Presidency's Prokop: Security Dialogue EU/Russia/USA Initiated (May 4, 2006) | Report Cites U.S., EU, Eurasian Counterterrorism Cooperation (Apr 28, 2006) | State's Fried, Others Testify on Islamic Extremism in Europe (Apr 6, 2006) (Fried Testimony; Other Senate Testimony) | U.S. Gains International Support in Blocking Terrorist Funds (Testimony by State Department's Wayne and Treasury's Levey) (Apr 4, 2006) | Treasury's Levey Speaks to The Netherlands' Terrorist Financing Conference (Mar 16, 2006) | Gonzales in London Defends Detainee Treatment, Seeks Dialogue with Europe (Mar 7, 2006) (Full Text of Remarks) | Amb. Gray Addresses Conference on Security, Terrorism (Feb 21, 2006)

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff brought to Brussels, Belgium, in May 2005, his ideas for enhancing security without sacrificing liberty or privacy in order to protect nations from the threat of terrorism. Chertoff, addressing the German Marshall Fund and European Policy Centre, offered proposals concerning technology, law enforcement and passenger and cargo screening aimed at moving the world forward toward the creation of what he called a “worldwide security envelope.” By “security envelope” Chertoff said he means “secure environments through which people and cargo can move rapidly, efficiently and safely without sacrificing security or privacy.” To discuss the vision of a technology-based system of security envelopes was the purpose of his trip to Europe, which included stops in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as well as in Belgium.

2005: United States, EU Cooperate Against WMD Proliferation, Terrorism (Jun 20, 2005) | Terrorism Finance Issues Addressed at U.S.-EU Summit (Jun 20, 2005) | EU's Solana Meets Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff (May 24, 2005) | U.S. Security Chief Pursues Counterterrorism Dialogue with Europe (May 23, 2005) | U.S.'s Beardsworth, Commission's Faull Brief on Border, Transport Security Talks (May 19, 2005) | Commission: EU and U.S. Hold High-Level Dialogue on Border, Transport Security (May 18, 2005) | U.S., EU Review Cooperation on Terrorist Finance (May 10, 2005) | Bush Expresses Condolences on Madrid Bombing Anniversary (Mar 11, 2005) | U.S., Europe Fight Terror with Freedom's Values, Law Enforcement (Mar 10, 2005) | U.S., EU Security Depends on Collective Fight Against Terrorism (Jan 13, 2005)

The United States and the European Union renewed their commitment to cooperate in fighting terrorism while protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms in a declaration issued at the U.S.-EU Summit in Shannon, Ireland, on June 26, 2004. Both parties pledged to deepen the international consensus and advance international counterterrorism efforts by supporting the United Nations and ensuring adherence to the U.N. conventions on terrorism. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deprive terrorists of access to economic resources. The declaration listed a number areas in which the United States and the EU will cooperate in bringing terrorists to justice and working to prevent terrorist attacks, including law enforcement, cyber-security, intelligence-gathering, and information exchange.

2004: Report to U.S.-EU Foreign Ministers Troika on Terrorism Finance Issues (Dec 2004) | U.S. Official Briefs Congress on U.S.-EU Counterterror Cooperation (Sep 17, 2004) | U.S., EU Discuss Border, Transport Security (Nov 23, 2004) | U.S., EU Discuss Fight Against Terrorist Financing (Nov 17, 2004) | U.S., EU at Summit Resolute in Opposing Terrorism (Jun 26, 2004) | DHS's Loy Reviews U.S.-EU Counter-Terrorism, Travel, Cargo Cooperation (Jun 24, 2004) | Armitage Meets with European Security Officials, May 12, 2004 | Ridge, EU Officials Discuss Passenger Data, Aviation Security (May 10, 2004) | U.S., EU Hold High-Level Dialogue on Transportation and Border Security, Apr. 26, 2004 | U.S., EU Hold High-Level Dialogue on Transportation and Border Security (Apr 26, 2004) | Powell Hopes Bin Laden Truce Offer Will Strengthen U.S.-European Cooperation (Apr 15, 2004) | EU Joins U.S. in Designating Colombian Group as Terrorists, (Apr 6, 2004) | Black Offers Ways to Improve U.S.-EU Counterterrorism Cooperation (Mar 31, 2004) | Bush, Dutch Prime Minister Urge Solidarity Against Terrorism (Mar 16, 2004) | EU Counterterrorism Efforts in the Justice and Home Affairs Field (Mar 12, 2004) | Amb. Schnabel Joins EU Leaders in Commemorating Madrid Bombing Victims (Mar 11, 2004)