Prevention of terrorism and violent radicalisation

Key points

• The EU's key contribution lies in harmonisation, cooperation and sharing of experiences, which can still be improved on, though care should be taken to avoid layer upon layer of legislation and extraordinary measures.
• Civil society is the main victim of international terrorism but it is also one of the main players in any strategy to fight this threat. It can play an important task in this context, by:
• actively ensuring that the counter-terrorism strategy never oversteps the rule of law and that the human rights, values, principles and freedoms that define an open and democratic society are protected;
• working with Community and national authorities at all levels to identify activities and persons involved in terrorist networks;
• setting up channels for dialogue with leaders and social players from the communities in which terrorist groups base themselves, in order to encourage joint efforts to condemn and de-legitimise violent acts and discourse;
• It is by paying attention to the underlying causes in which terrorist violence breeds that civil society can play its full role.