[Mar Verde]

The Hague, 10 April 2007

First Terrorism Situation and Trend Report of Europol released

The Hague - The Netherlands

The first EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report TE-SAT 2007 produced by Europol was presented today in the European Parliament in Brussels by Director Max-Peter Ratzel.

The TE-SAT 2007 provides an overview of the phenomenon of terrorism in the EU from the law enforcement perspective. This approach provides a solid basis for decision making both in the Member States and at EU level.

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon in the EU. Nevertheless, in the twenty-first century, the threat posed by terrorism to Member States is more serious than ever. TE-SAT illustrates very well the existence of this continuous threat. It indicates that 498 attacks were carried out by Islamist, separatist, left-wing and anarchist terrorist groups in eleven Member States in 2006. A total of 706 individuals suspected of terrorism offences were arrested in 15 Member States in 2006.

This report for the first time collates all statistical data on the terrorist attacks and plots in the EU as well as provides details on the where, whom and how of terrorist activities. Director Ratzel thanked the Member States’ services Eurojust and SITCEN for contributing data and analysis to the report.

TE-SAT 2007, being a public document, allows EU citizens to get acquainted with the major results of Europol activities which normally are not publicised due to their confidentiality.

When presenting TE-SAT 2007, Ratzel said that "with this important report Europol contributes to counter terrorist activities of the EU. The document also shows the increasing level of trust that Member States are demonstrating in the area of mutual counter terrorist cooperation, also facilitated by Europol". Ratzel mentioned as well the importance of other Europol activities in the area, including the recent initiative of the German presidency "Check-the-Web: Fighting terrorism on the Internet".

http://www.europol.europa.eu/publicatio ... AT2007.pdf