26 June 2004

United States, European Union Resolute in Opposing Terrorism

Counterterrorism strategies announced at U.S.-EU Summit

The United States and the European Union renewed their commitment to cooperate in fighting terrorism while protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms in a declaration issued at the U.S.-EU Summit in Shannon, Ireland, June 26.

Both parties pledged to deepen the international consensus and advance international counterterrorism efforts by supporting the United Nations and ensuring adherence to the U.N. conventions on terrorism.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to deprive terrorists of access to economic resources by supporting the work of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), ensuring the effectiveness of asset-freezing and transaction-blocking laws, and strengthening protections against the abuse of formal and informal financial institutions. The declaration also outlined other steps to ensure that legal and regulatory safeguards to block terrorist financing are effectively implemented and enforced.

The declaration listed a number areas in which the United States and the EU will cooperate in bringing terrorists to justice and working to prevent terrorist attacks, including law enforcement, cyber-security, intelligence-gathering, and information exchange.

International transport security and border control are other key areas on which the United States and EU plan to focus in coming months. The declaration emphasized the need for complementary approaches on both sides of the Atlantic to ensure that air, land, and maritime facilities are secure from terrorist attacks, and underscored the importance of incorporating biometric identifiers into passports.

They also pledged cooperation in dealing with the consequences of terrorist attacks, diminishing the underlying conditions that allow terrorists to flourish, and reaching out to "Third World countries where counter-terrorist capacity or commitment to combating terrorism needs to be enhanced."

Along with the text of the declaration, the White House released a fact sheet that outlined the points on which the United States and the EU had achieved consensus, the steps needed to expand transatlantic counterterrorism cooperation, and the initiatives by which "President Bush has demonstrated his commitment to improving the United States' ability to detect and deter would-be terrorists."

Following are the texts of the declaration and the fact sheet:

(begin text)

[begin declaration]

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Shannon, Ireland)
June 26, 2004

TEXT OF U.S.-EU DECLARATION ON COMBATING TERRORISM

U.S.-EU Summit
Dromoland Castle
Shannon, Ireland

26 June 2004

Since the attacks of 11 September 2001, the United States and the European Union have been working together closely to combat the threat of terrorism. In the aftermath of the attacks on Madrid on 11 March 2004, the European Council adopted a Declaration on Combating Terrorism, reinforcing its determination to prevent and fight terrorism. Today we have renewed our commitment to further developing our cooperation against terrorism within the framework of the New Transatlantic Agenda, while recognising the contributions of the G-8 Secure and Facilitated International Travel Initiative.

We remain determined to work together to combat terrorism while sharing a commitment to protect and respect human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law on which our societies are founded and which terrorism seeks to destroy.

On that basis, the U.S., the EU, and, as appropriate, its Member States, will take forward work on counterterrorism, in keeping with the following objectives, through dialogue and action at all levels:

1. We will work together to deepen the international consensus and enhance international efforts to combat terrorism.

1.1 We will support the key role of the United Nations, its General Assembly, and the work of the Security Council. We will work closely with the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). We will also contribute to the Global Programme of the United Nations on Drugs and Crime.

1.2 We will work to ensure universal adherence to, and full implementation of, the United Nations Conventions on terrorism. Likewise, we will press for full implementation by all U.N. Member States of all relevant U.N. Resolutions, including 1373 and 1267 and all subsequent amending Resolutions.

2. We reaffirm our total commitment to prevent access by terrorists to financial and other economic resources.

2.1 We will actively support the work of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on all issues regarding the financing of terrorism. In particular, we will work to ensure that EU and national legal frameworks are fully adapted to the FATF's eight special recommendations and Interpretive Notes on terrorist financing.

2.2 We will ensure the effectiveness of our asset freezing and transaction blocking laws and regulations, by implementing concrete steps to ensure full and effective implementation of all relevant provisions of UNSCR Resolution 1373.

2.3 We will ensure that internal processes are in place for reviewing proposals for designation, based on thorough and timely consideration of serious and credible evidence, providing a reasonable basis to indicate that such entities or individuals are supporting or financing terrorist activity or a previously designated entity or individual.

2.4 We will strengthen measures to protect against the abuse of formal and informal financial institutions, including through the regulation of alternative remittance systems, wire transfers, and cash couriers, as well as of trans-border cash movements. We will review the regulation of the non-profit sector to ensure that it cannot be misused by terrorist organisations or those who seek to finance such organisations. We will keep these questions under active review.

2.5 We will take the necessary steps, in accordance with appropriate procedures and criteria, to ensure that terrorist groups cannot evade the consequences of designation by renaming themselves or hiding behind front organisations.

2.6 We will work to ensure effective implementation of our respective criminal legislation and relevant provisions outlawing the support to designated names.

2.7 We will provide public access to consolidated lists in our respective jurisdictions of all persons and entities subject to asset freezing mechanisms of the EU and the U.S. We will also promote awareness within the financial sector, the non-profit sector and the general public of the threat posed by terrorist financing and of responsibilities under relevant anti-terrorist financing legislation and regulation.

2.8 We will seek ways to identify adequate national coordination mechanisms to respond to queries on asset freezing regimes.

2.9 We will work to promote safe harbour provisions at a national level to protect government or private sector employees from personal liability for reporting, in good faith, suspicious transactions linked to terrorist financing.

2.10 Once we have designated an organisation, we will ensure that appropriate enforcement agencies or bodies analyse transactions of all accounts of the organisation. We will explore mechanisms for sharing the results of our analysis.

2.11 We will have a regular dialogue on Terrorist Financing.

3. We commit to working together to develop measures to maximise our capacities to detect, investigate, and prosecute terrorists and prevent terrorist attacks.

3.1 We will promote cooperation between our law enforcement agencies and institutions, taking account of our respective legislation, for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of terrorist offences. In particular:

3.2 We will work together to develop strategies to prevent cyber attacks that threaten our critical information infrastructures and to combat use of the Internet as a means for communications among terrorists and other criminals.

3.3 We will work together to enhance, in accordance with national legislation, our abilities to share information among intelligence and law enforcement agencies to prevent and disrupt terrorist activities, and to better use sensitive information as allowed by national legislation in aid of prosecutions of terrorists in a manner which protects the information, while ensuring a fair trial.

3.4 We will collaborate on enhancing legal frameworks to prevent terrorism, including by ensuring appropriate legislation is in place to investigate and prosecute offences linked to terrorist activities and facilitate legal cooperation in relation to such offences.

3.5 We will ensure that conduct consisting of knowingly supplying or attempting to supply material or logistic support to terrorists or terrorist groups is made a criminal offence.

3.6 We will work together to promote the use of appropriate investigative techniques, such as electronic surveillance, in combating terrorism and will collaborate in the development of mechanisms to protect witnesses and assist law enforcement.

3.7 We will regularly review developments regarding proposals directed at improving the exchange of personal information for the purpose of combating terrorism.

3.8 We will seek to strengthen the exchange of information and the capacity for cooperation between the U.S. and Europol in accordance with the U.S.-Europol agreements.

3.9 We will explore ways to strengthen cooperation between U.S. prosecutors and Eurojust in accordance with the Council Decision establishing Eurojust.

3.10 We will rapidly complete remaining steps necessary to bring the EU-U.S. Agreements on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance into force, so that we can fully use the mechanisms they contain for enhanced cooperation to combat terrorism, including enhanced joint investigative undertakings and enhanced tools to identify bank accounts of terrorists.

3.11 We will explore ways to build better mutual awareness of our respective criminal justice systems, such as the organising of seminars, participation in each other's law enforcement training programmes, and further exchanges of law enforcement personnel that can aid us in our efforts.

3.12 We will seek means to improve cooperation on the sharing of law enforcement and other sensitive information between government agencies consistent with national legislation and the need to protect sources and fair procedures.

4. We will seek to further protect the security of international transport and ensure effective systems of border control.

4.1 We will use the recently established EU-U.S. Policy Dialogue on Border and Transport Security to enhance mutual understanding and complementarity of EU-U.S. security policies and improve security in land, air, and maritime environments.

4.2 We will work together to further enhance relationships established through programmes like the Container Security Initiative. The recent EC-U.S. agreement expanding customs cooperation will improve security standards while continuing to facilitate trade. We will enhance information exchange to increase our ability to target and interdict terrorist threats in the maritime transportation system.

4.3 We reaffirm our commitment to work in close mutual cooperation to increase maritime, port facility, and vessel security through the International Ship & Port Facility Security Code developed by the United Nations International Maritime Organization. We will foster other initiatives from this organisation dedicated to further improving maritime security. We further pledge to assist each other in strengthening our respective maritime transportation systems through self audits and assessments as well as through discussions on harmonising maritime transport security requirements and sharing of best practices.

4.4 We will seek complementary approaches to airport, aircraft, and air cargo security, optimised screening and enhanced security measures as appropriate. We will formulate principles of aviation, port, and vessel security and explore cooperation on rail security.

4.5 We will fully implement the EC-U.S. agreement on transfer of passenger name record (PNR) data and will also cooperate on the development of multilateral standards.

4.6 We will continue to promote document security through the incorporation of interoperable biometric identifiers into travel documentation and work on compatible technology for the future.

4.7 We will work together to enhance information exchange, including through Interpol, in responding to the problem of lost and stolen passports and other border control related issues.

5. We will work together to develop further our capabilities to deal with the consequences of a terrorist attack.

5.1 Building on the considerable work which has been done in this area within the EU, NATO, and other international organisations, we will identify areas for closer cooperation in crisis management.

5.2 Benefiting from this work, we will open a dialogue between the EU and the U.S. on responding to terrorist attacks, including attacks using CBRN contaminants.

5.3 We will develop strategies to improve communication with the public in the event of a major terrorist attack.

5.4 We will assist stricken nations in their efforts to mitigate the effects of terrorist attacks.

6. We will work in close cooperation to diminish the underlying conditions that terrorists can seize to recruit and exploit to their advantage. By promoting democracy, development, good governance, justice, increased trade, and freedom, we can help end dictatorship and extremism that bring millions of people to misery and bring danger to our own people.

6.1 We will cooperate in developing a long-term strategy to address the above areas and in identifying ways to make more efficient use of our relevant external assistance programmes, with special regard to continued support for good governance and the rule of law.

6.2 We will work to support the development of global strategies to promote increased tolerance in the world, including cross-cultural and
inter-religious understanding.

7. We will target our external relations actions towards priority Third Countries where counter-terrorist capacity or commitment to combating terrorism needs to be enhanced.

7.1 We will mainstream counter-terrorist objectives into the work of external assistance programmes and take account of the coordinating work of the U.N. Counter Terrorism Committee.

7.2 We will have special regard to the objective of counter-terrorism capacity building in third countries, in line with the current work of the UN CTC, the FATF and the G8 Counter-Terrorist Action Group.

7.3 Within our counter-terrorism efforts, we will work to develop comprehensive Counter-terrorist Financing and Anti-Money Laundering regimes.

[end declaration]

[begin fact sheet]

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Shannon, Ireland)
June 26, 2004

FACT SHEET

U.S.-EU SUMMIT: COOPERATION TO COMBAT TERRORISTS AND OTHER SERIOUS CRIMINALS

"We have faced serious challenges together, and now we face a choice: We can go forward with confidence and resolve, or we can turn back to the dangerous illusion that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no threat to us."

President George W. Bush
State of the Union Address
January 20, 2004

Today, President Bush and his EU counterparts welcomed the progress on counterterrorism, including an agreement on further transatlantic cooperation. The United States and the European Union recognize the threat of terrorism to our freedom and basic liberties, and are resolved to defeat it. Victory will be secured only as long as the international community maintains vigilance and works tirelessly together to prevent terrorists from inflicting horrors like those of September 11, 2001, and March 11, 2004.

The United States and the European Union have agreed today to:

-- Work together to deepen the international consensus and enhance international efforts to combat terrorism through support of the United Nations, its General Assembly, and the Security Council;

-- Share data on lost and stolen passports to prevent terrorists from traveling undetected with these documents;

-- Work together to prevent access by terrorists to financial and other economic resources and have a regular dialogue on terrorist financing;

-- Promote cooperation between our law enforcement agencies and institutions for the purpose of the prevention, detection, and investigation and prosecution of terrorist offenses;

-- Identify areas for closer cooperation in dealing with the consequences of terrorist attacks; and

-- Focus assistance programs on the enhancement of counterterrorist capacity and commitment in priority Third Countries.

These steps build on the expanding transatlantic counterterrorism cooperation. Specifically, the United States and the European Union recently have:

-- Reached an agreement giving U.S. border enforcement authorities access to airline passenger reservation data on transatlantic flights that will allow U.S. authorities to screen for potential terrorists in advance of boarding aircraft;

-- Begun cooperation to secure our ports, vessels, cargo, and supply chains through programs such as the Container Security Initiative and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism to detect radioactive material; and

-- Inaugurated a high-level dialogue to enhance mutual understanding and complementarity of U.S.-EU security policies and improve security in land, air, and maritime environments.

This extensive and growing collaboration with the EU is part of President Bush's broader counterterrorism strategy. The United States works closely with every nation committed to the fight against terrorism. Together with our international partners, we have already scored multiple victories:

-- Worldwide, nearly $140 million in terrorist-related accounts has been frozen.

-- Over two-thirds of the al-Qaida leadership have been captured or killed.

-- Operational and logistical terrorist support cells have been disrupted in Europe, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Southeast Asia.

-- 50 million people have been liberated from two of the most brutal regimes in modern history, and al-Qaida has been denied a safehaven in Afghanistan.

President Bush has demonstrated his commitment to improving the United States' ability to detect and deter would-be terrorists by showing leadership in securing our Homeland through a series of initiatives:

-- The USA Patriot Act brought down the artificial wall separating law enforcement and intelligence officers, allowing them to talk to each other as they work to prevent future attacks, and provided for measured changes in the law that have enabled the Federal Government to better track terrorists, disrupt their cells, seize their assets, and share information with state and local law enforcement.

-- The most extensive reorganization of the Federal Government in 50 years created the Department of Homeland Security last year that combined multi-agency efforts to better protect our skies, borders, ports, and critical infrastructure.

-- The Terrorist Threat Integration Center, established in May 2003, is making strides in integrating and analyzing terrorism threat-related information collected domestically and abroad, ensuring that intelligence and law enforcement entities are working in common purpose.

-- The Terrorist Screening Center was created to consolidate terrorist watchlists and provide 24/7 operational support for thousands of Federal screeners across the country and around the world.

(end text)