Flashback: September 11
1,095 views · Published 25 June 2012 · 4:28 · Indexed 12 November 2026
Channel: European Parliament · 2012 · News & Politics
Outside the European Parliament flags flew at half-mast. MEPs were holding an emergency session, stunned by the 9/11 attack on the US in which almost 3,000 people died. Ten years on, Europe and the world have changed irrevocably. On September 11 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists crashed two hijacked planes into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Centre, another into the Pentagon. A fourth, maybe aimed at Washington, crashed in a field when passengers rushed the gunmen. Europe's initial reaction still informs the legislative process. There is much less of a direct link between 9/11 and today's policy choices but there are indirect effects of 9/11 in the perception of security. The perception of security in Europe has changed. The focus on security has increased and it continues to be increased. The attack had an almost immediate effect on legislation in Europe. Within 3 months the European Arrest Warrant was adopted, while the European Commission froze the financial assets of suspects. One hundred million euros were seized. The budget of the EU police body, Europol, was increased for 2002 to meet the costs of fighting terrorism. Other measures, such as seeing a terror attack on one State as an attack on all, came after the Madrid train bombings in 2004. Moves to counter the radicalisation of home-grown terrorists followed the London attacks the following year. Europol has played a major role in countering terrorism, especially as coordinated attacks have given way to so-called 'lone-wolf' terrorists: radicalised individuals with a violent agenda. That makes policing all the more difficult because we're dealing therefore with a looser network of terrorists and individuals that may not otherwise come to the attention of the police. With new powers under the Lisbon Treaty, the EP has refused to sanction deals to transfer personal and financial data to the US, determined not to sacrifice civil liberties for counter-terrorism. But they also fear Europe's own conscience isn't entirely clear. There were secret centres in Lithuania - this has been acknowledged - and in Poland there is now a judicial inquiry with two named, identified victims who were tortured in detention in Poland. So certainly Europe has some responsibility in these human rights abuses. Defending liberties is harder, but if those inside the EU have been under pressure, this MEP, like most, is pleased that elsewhere there have been uprisings to oust long-term despots in Arab countries. It is still ongoing, and that too may be an indirect result of 9/11. We've seen what goes on in Libya, for example, which used to be al-Qaeda's base, and also in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia. Things are so dramatically re-shaping the Arab world and in a curious way 9/11, as it were, permitted people to think differently. Ten years on, conspiracy theories abound. 179 people were arrested in 2010 for offences linked to Islamist terrorism, but far more were held for terrorism linked to separatist or political views. EU legislators remain determined not to curb civil rights, even if it means disagreement with Washington. This debate between security and how much security, how much enhanced security and how much to preserve human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe has been nevertheless much more balanced than across the ocean. Today the aim remains to make life more difficult for terrorists but not for the rest of us. EuroparlTV video ID: c8af6232-f449-468b-86f6-9f5700a13f0d
