Noting that the threat posed by ISIS in Europe has dropped dramatically, the senior EU counter-terrorism official said he also believed that threats from ISIS were a complex issue for Europe.
According to the Politico website, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles Deckerchov said in an interview with Le Monde published yesterday that ISIS no longer has the capacity to send terrorists to European countries, thanks to the actions of the international coalition.
However, the senior European official warned that “this threat remains complex”, especially due to the existence of “isolated agents” who have nothing to do with ISIS.
Dekrchov went on to warn, in particular, of the growing power of extremists in parts of Europe, and said: It is necessary and important to prevent the new activities of ISIL in Africa, because the reactivation of this group in Africa could directly threaten Europe.
He added: Europe has significantly reduced this vulnerability, but doubts remain.
A senior EU counter-terrorism official said co-operation between national intelligence services had increased significantly since 2015, following the attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper office in France.
The European official, who is due to retire at the end of August, said, there is no plan to form a CIA version in Europe, but he predicts that Europol (European Law Enforcement Agency) will play a more important role in various areas, including judicial investigations into counter-terrorism matters in European countries.
Dekrchov went on to say that the activities of far-right movements are also a threat to Europe, and in some countries, including Germany, the activities of these groups are as worrying as the activities of terrorists.