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R 271334Z MAR 09
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000444 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
TAGS: PTER EUN SOCI PHUM PINS SCUL KISL
SUBJECT: EUROPEAN UNION EFFORTS TO COUNTER MUSLIM RADICALIZATION 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1.  (U)  The European Union (EU), with the European Commission at 
the forefront, has made several advances in the past six months in 
addressing the topic of Muslim radicalization and related terrorism. 
 The Commission has revised its Plan of Action on Combating 
Terrorism, or Action Plan, as it does under every Council 
Presidency, first released in June 2004.  In a change from previous 
years, to inform the latest update to the Action Plan, the 
Commission requested four academic studies, which were released in 
late 2008.  These studies analyzed trends of radicalization leading 
to terrorism from various angles.  The Commission has also 
established a European Network of Experts on Radicalization (ENER) 
and begun experimental models in member states to establish best 
practices.  The Treaty of Lisbon has the potential to change 
decision-making procedures on European radicalization and terrorism 
policy significantly.  END SUMMARY 
 
UPDATING THE ACTION PLAN 
 
¶2.  (U)  Under every Council Presidency, the Commission revises its 
Plan of Action on Combating Terrorism, or Action Plan, first 
released in June 2004.  Crimes involving incitement (especially over 
the Internet), recruitment, and bomb-making have recently been added 
to the plan.  Four academic studies, two from The Change Institute 
in London and one each from the King's College in London and the 
Compagnie Europenne d'Intelligence Stratgique (CEIS) in Paris, 
were conducted on behalf of the European Commission from 2006-2007. 
The studies analyzed the ideological underpinnings of violent 
radicalization, methods to recruit and mobilize violent radicals, 
youth radicalization, and civil society's role in responding to 
radicalization.  The research findings helped the EU develop a 
coherent and effective counter-terrorism strategy which was included 
in the Action Plan.  Although the Commission relied heavily on the 
studies, they were not legally bound to any of the recommendations. 
 
 
COMMISSION INITIATIVES 
 
¶3.  (U)  The Commission also created a European Network of Experts 
on Radicalization (ENER) which includes several U.S. experts.  The 
group met as recently as February 1.  Its role is to study 
radicalization and terrorism policy and present its findings to 
member states and EU institutions.  Dutch experts, for example, 
recently presented to the Council findings from a six-city project 
on local-level engagement of diaspora youth.  The ENER is currently 
a closed network (with exceptions for U.S. experts), but may 
eventually become an open network for wider communication. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  To facilitate coordination and implementation, member 
states assume different responsibilities under the Action Plan.  For 
example, the United Kingdom focuses on the communication sector, 
especially the negative portrayal of Muslims in the media.  An 
official of the Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom, and 
Security's (JLS) Unit on Terrorism cited the UK's efforts to 
de-sensationalize communications about Muslim communities and 
develop healthy communication strategies among religious groups. 
Other projects include outreach to religious leaders in Spain, 
internet surveillance in Germany, local-level engagement with Muslim 
youth in the Netherlands, de-radicalization in Denmark, and 
countering recruitment in prisons in France, Germany, and Austria. 
Many of the projects conducted by member states cross national 
borders.  For example, the project headed by the Dutch (paragraph 3) 
involved four cities in the Netherlands, one in Germany, and one in 
the United Kingdom.  The Commission's role, and that of the EU's 
Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, is to facilitate 
the sharing of results, including trends and best practices, among 
all member states, including Central and Eastern European member 
states which have as yet been generally less concerned or threatened 
by Muslim radicalization as their more Western counterparts. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Recent EU efforts have also focused on increasing external 
contact to mitigate radicalization at home.  Many member states have 
been working with the International Organization of Migration.  The 
Dutch have begun training imams in Morocco and Turkey for service in 
Western Europe.  These imams can serve as role models, especially to 
youth, on non-violent religious lifestyles. 
 
¶6.  (U)  Lastly, as part of the Action Plan, the EU has developed a 
handbook for procedures and preventive measures in dealing with the 
recruitment of radicals in prisons.  This project was a joint effort 
headed by the French, Germans, and Austrians (paragraph 4).  A 
follow-up meeting of ENER to discuss best practices in this area is 
expected in July. 
 
EFFECTS OF LISBON TREATY 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, the Commission, 
Council, and Parliament will have refined roles in deciding 
terrorism and radicalization policy.  The Parliament will gain 
co-decision power with the Council on radicalization policy, thus 
exposing the policy to more scrutiny and a larger audience. 
Further, these policy areas will move from unanimity voting to 
 
BRUSSELS 00000444  002 OF 002 
 
 
qualified majority voting, thereby avoiding vetoes by individual 
member states and speeding up implementation.  Although local-level 
engagement will remain essential to implementation of policies on 
radicalization, supporters of the Lisbon Treaty assert that these 
institutional changes will allow for greater oversight and 
implementation at the European level, especially from the 
Commission. 
 
MURRAY