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European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2021
Gilles de Kerchove was appointed European Union (EU) Counter-Terrorism Coordinator (EU CTC) on 19 September 2007. In this function, he coordinates the work of the EU in the field of counterterrorism (CT), maintains an overview of all the instruments at the Union's disposal, closely monitors the implementation of the EU CT strategy and fosters better communication between the EU and third countries to ensure that the Union plays an active role in the fight against terrorism.
He was previously Director for Justice and Home Affairs at the EU Council General Secretariat (1995–2007) and Deputy Secretary of the Convention which drafted the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU (1999–2000). Before that he was Head of the Private Office of the Deputy Prime-Minister of the Federal Government of Belgium, Minister of Justice and Minister of Economic Affairs (1993–1995) and Head of the Private Office of the Deputy Prime-Minister of the Federal Government of Belgium, Minister of Justice and Minister of SMEs (1989–1992).
Mr de Kerchove is a Professor of European Law at the Université Catholique de Louvain, at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and at the Université Saint Louis-Bruxelles.
He has published a number of books and numerous articles on European law, human rights, security and CT.
This interview was conducted in Brussels on 4 May 2021 by Dr Knut Dörmann, Head of Delegation to the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Kingdom of Belgium, ICRC.
1 The Council of the EU is an institution of the EU, informally also known as the Council, that is formed by government Ministers from each EU country who meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies. Together with the European Parliament, the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU. It is not to be confused with the European Council, with at least quarterly summits, and where EU leaders meet to set the broad direction of EU policy, and with the Council of Europe which is an international organization in Strasbourg comprising forty-seven countries of Europe and that was set up to promote democracy and protect human rights and the rule of law in Europe.
2 Council of the EU, “Declaration on Combating Terrorism”, 7906/04, Brussels, adopted by the European Council at its meeting on 25 March 2004, available at: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-7906-2004-INIT/en/pdf (all internet references were accessed in June 2021).
3 Expression also used in UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions. See, for instance, Resolution 2178 (2014), adopted by the UNSC at its 7272nd meeting, on 24 September 2014.
4 “Treaty of Lisbon Amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community, 13 December 2007”, Official Journal of the European Union, C 306/1, 2007, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12007L%2FTXT.
5 This type of legally binding act is no longer used since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force in December 2009. A Framework Decision established objectives which the Member States had to fulfil but whereby Member States were free to choose the manner in which they would implement the required objectives.
6 Treaty of Lisbon, above note 4.
7 European Commission, “Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the EU: Anticipate, Prevent, Protect, Respond”, COM(2020) 795 final, Brussels, 9 December 2020, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0795&from=EN.
8 See the factsheet on the CT agenda for the EU: European Commission, Counter Terrorism and Radicalisation, December 2020, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/counter-terrorism_en.
9 Informal meeting with Heads of State or Government – Statement of the Members of the European Council, Brussels, 12 February 2015; see also Council of the EU, “Council Conclusions on Counter-Terrorism”, 6048/15, as adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council on 9 February 2015, available at: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6048-2015-INIT/en/pdf.
10 European Commission, “Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the EU Security Union Strategy”, COM(2020) 605 final, Brussels, 24 July 2020, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0605&from=EN.
11 European Commission, above note 7.
12 The Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (EU Commission) (DG ECHO) partners are responding in all camps in NES, including: providing child protection programming in the two camps with foreign annexes (al-Hol, Roj), giving essential protection and recreational support to vulnerable and isolated children, strengthening Global Camp Management and Camp Coordination (CCCM) coordination across NES and finally being the primary health care providers in five of the twelve camps. Partners provide health assistance throughout NES. They provide full support to over fifteen health facilities – including an emergency field hospital in al-Hol, Raqqa maternity and paediatric hospital, Shiheil hospital, seven primary health centres, mobile units and ambulance services. DG ECHO has been very active in providing the vital humanitarian support to vulnerable people in the camps, but given the limited resources, the situation in al-Hol and the rest of NES also calls for non-humanitarian assistance.
13 The RAN “connects frontline practitioners from across Europe with one another, and with academics and policymakers, to exchange knowledge, first-hand experiences and approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism in all its forms”. For more information, see European Commission, Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), available at: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/networks/radicalisation_awareness_network_en.
14 Joint Plan of Action for the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism (CT) Strategy in Central Asia, adopted by the Central Asian States on 30 November 2011. See https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/cct/counter-terrorism-in-central-asia.
15 United Nations Children's Fund.
16 Genocide Network and Eurojust, Cumulative Prosecution of Foreign Terrorist Fighters for Core International Crimes and Terrorism-Related Offences, The Hague, 19 May 2020Google Scholar, available at: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/sites/default/files/Partners/Genocide/2020-05_Report-on-cumulative-prosecution-of-FTFs_EN.PDF. The Genocide Network was established to enable close cooperation between the national authorities in EU Member States when investigating and prosecuting the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. See also Eurojust, Genocide Network, available at: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/judicial-cooperation/practitioner-networks/genocide-network.
17 “Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on Combating Terrorism and Replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and Amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA”, Official Journal of the European Union, L 88/6, 2017, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32017L0541&from=EN.
18 Ibid., § 37 of the Recital: “This Directive should not have the effect of altering the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the Member States under international law, including under international humanitarian law. This Directive does not govern the activities of armed forces during periods of armed conflict, which are governed by international humanitarian law within the meaning of those terms under that law, and, inasmuch as they are governed by other rules of international law, activities of the military forces of a State in the exercise of their official duties.”
19 Resolution 2178 (2014), adopted by the UNSC at its 7272nd meeting, on 24 September 2014.
20 Directive (EU) 2017/541, above note 17.
21 See Genocide Network and Eurojust, above note 16, § 6.1: “Although not all terrorist groups can simultaneously qualify as a party to an armed conflict, ISIS and other conflicting parties, such as the ‘Free Syrian Army’ and the ‘Jabhat al-Nusra’ were all highly organised and therefore can be determined as non-state armed groups”.
22 Eurojust, Eurojust Memorandum on Battlefield Evidence, 29 September 2020, available at: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/eurojust-memorandum-battlefield-evidence-0.
23 Directive (EU) 2017/541, above note 17, § 37 of the Recital.
24 See Article 6(5) of Protocol Additional (II) to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts, 8 June 1977.
25 Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
26 See, for instance, European Commission, above note 7, Introduction.
27 See, for instance, European Commission, Prevention of Radicalisation: the Commission Steps up Support in the Western Balkans with a New €1.55 Million Project, 19 April 2021, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/news/prevention-radicalisation-commission-steps-support-western-balkans-new-€155-million-project_en.
28 “Regulation (EU) 2021/784 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on Addressing the Dissemination of Terrorist Content Online”, Official Journal of the European Union, L 172/79, 2021, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32021R0784&from=EN.
29 To prevent and counter the spread of illegal hate speech online, in May 2016 the Commission agreed a code of conduct with major digital companies. Other digital companies joined in the course of 2018, in January 2019. The last one joined in September 2020. For more information, see European Commission, The EU Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/eu-code-conduct-countering-illegal-hate-speech-online_en.
30 Remarks by Gilles de Kerchove, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, at the UN Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week, 10 July 2020.
31 The Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers.
32 Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.
33 Council of the EU, “Council Conclusions on EU External Action on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism”, 8868/20, Brussels, 16 June 2020, § 27: “Recalling its conclusions on humanitarian assistance and international humanitarian law of 25 November 2019, and in line with UNSCR 2462 (2019), the Council recognises the need to take into account the potential effect of counter-terrorism measures, including sanctions, on humanitarian action. The Council calls for the avoidance of any potential negative impact of counter-terrorism measures on exclusively humanitarian activities, including medical activities, that are carried out by impartial humanitarian actors in full compliance with humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law. To that end, the Council reaffirms its continued commitment to preserving the humanitarian space, including inter alia through the development of best practices and the adoption of appropriate mitigating measures.”
34 The Counter-Terrorism Week at the UN is a biennial gathering of Member States and international CT partners.
35 UN General Assembly, The United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy: seventh review, UN Doc. A/RES/75/291, 30 June 2021, available at: https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/75/291.
36 Directive (EU) 2017/541, above note 17, § 38 of the Recital.
37 UNSCR 2462 (2019), adopted by the UNSC at its 8496th meeting, on 28 March 2019, § 24.
38 Resolution 2178 (2014), above note 19.
39 Council of Europe, “Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism”, Council of Europe Treaty Series No. 217, 19 May 2015, available at: https://rm.coe.int/168047c5ea.
40 UNSCR 2462 (2019), adopted by the UNSC at its 8496th meeting, on 28 March 2019.