Europol's Fledgling Counterterrorism Role

This article offers an analysis of Europol's counterterrorism role. Based on official EU documents, internal reports, and secondary sources, it dissects the contemporary counterterrorism activities of both Europol and the informal arrangements outside of the EU structure that are frequently utilized by some EU Member States. Although Europol does not perform any indispensable counterterrorism functions at the moment due to its limited powers and lack of trust from national agencies, the author contends that Europol has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the fight against terrorism.