COUNTERTERRORISM AND THE BUSH-EU MEETING
By Matthew Levitt
President Bush will visit Brussels next week and meet with leaders of the European Union (EU). While the Iranian nuclear program and the war in Iraq will undoubtedly be the top items on the agenda, counterterrorism is also certain to be a topic of discussion. This meeting -- and the more conciliatory tone taken by both the United States and Europe over the past month -- is encouraging and, one hopes, will lead to closer cooperation and collaboration between the United States and the EU. From a counterterrorism perspective, however, the question could be asked whether Bush's meeting with the EU officials is anything more than symbolic. Does the EU play an important role in Europe's counterterrorism efforts, will it do so in the future, or is this still an arena in which the member states have almost complete primacy? The answer is not as clear as it once was. Although the EU still plays a fairly limited role in European counterterrorism efforts, it has gradually assumed a more active role in this area, a trend that appears likely to continue.
The full report by Washington Institute fellow Michael Jacobson is available here.
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