Brussels, 20/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The number of terrorist attacks recorded in the European Union in 2010 fell to 249, down 21.2% on 2009, the European police cooperation organisation, Europol, announced on Tuesday in its Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2010. The economic recession and the political instability in North Africa remain sources of concern, however, for Europol. And it is worried by the increased level of organisation among terrorist groups and the more sophisticated methods they are using.
In 2010, the 249 terrorist attacks were committed in nine member states, causing the deaths of seven people. Most of these attacks - 160 in total - were related to violent separatist, nationalist, or anarchist activities, Europol says, three were attributed to Islamist terrorist groups.
Europol says that the fall in the number of terrorist attacks in the EU could be explained by a significant decline in those attributed to the Basque separatist movement ETA and a 50% drop in attacks in Spain. Spain and France were the countries which suffered most from terrorist attacks, with 90 and 84 attacks recorded respectively from separatist groups. In France, 219 people were arrested, 123 of whom were linked to separatist and 94 to Islamist groups; in Spain, 118 people were arrested, 104 being linked to separatist and 11 to Islamist groups. These two countries were followed by the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with 62, 45 and 39 arrests respectively. Then came Italy and Germany with 29 and 25 arrests.
In total, the number of people arrested for terrorist-related crimes was 611, a 2% fall from the previous year. Of these, 179 were related to Islamic terrorism - a 50% increase on 2009, Europol says. The number of threats by Islamist groups against European interests also increased in 2010, to 46.
While the overall drop in the number of attacks is to the credit of police forces and law enforcement agencies, Europol warns that the threat remains real. “Terrorist groups are becoming more diverse and flexible in their methods of operating, with signs of increased collaboration between groups, increased use of the internet, and a growing connection between organised crime and terrorism, especially in regard to financing activities”, it notes. In addition to the recession in Europe, which fuelled extremism and terrorist activities, the instability of the political situation in North Africa is also “a source of concern to the internal security of the EU, with new opportunities emerging for terrorist groups to move material and members to Europe”, Europol says. (S.P./transl.rt)