‘Strengthening cooperation with external partners: Looking for a common response to the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters’

Abstract

Addressing the challenge of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and their affiliates who travelled to Syria and Iraq to join Da'esh and other terrorist groups has been a priority for the EU and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator since 2013, both within the EU and internationally. This article sets out comprehensive EU cooperation with international partners on foreign terrorist fighters: It covers EU action related to the camps and prisons in North East Syria where FTFs and family members are held, accountability of FTFs and affiliates, cooperation on FTFs with the EU’s neighbourhood: Turkey, Western Balkans and Middle East and North Africa regions, multilateral engagement with the United Nations and other fora as well as addressing Islamist extremist ideology which is contributing to the radicalization process. From a practitioner's perspective, the article provides the EU policy framework and its evolution, as well as examples of capacity building and other initiatives.