AD HOC WORKING GROUP ON TERRORIST THREAT TO THE EURO-ATLANTIC AREA - NRC(TER)

The fight against terrorism is a priority for practical cooperation under the NRC, which agreed an Action Plan on Terrorism in December 2004 in order to complement efforts underway elsewhere in the international community. This Action Plan aims at enhancing the abilities of NRC member states to act, individually and jointly, to prevent terrorism, combat terrorist activities and manage the consequences of terrorist acts.

The Ad Hoc Working Group On Terrorist Threat To The Euro-Atlantic Area aims at evaluating the terrorist threat to the Euro-Atlantic Area and at developing and implementing concrete projects that foster practical cooperation in combating terrorism, in accordance with the NRC Action Plan on Terrorism.

In this aim, several conferences and seminars have been held in order to share experiences and develop exchange of information between NRC members.

In May 2007, a conference focused on developing effective cooperation in understanding terrorist tactics and methodology was held in Ankara. Participants explored possibilities for cooperation in four key areas:
- developing an exchange of information on countering ideological support for terrorism;
- examining terrorists’ use of the Internet for incitement, recruitment and fund-raising;
- initiating an NRC information exchange on crisis response measures;
- organising a workshop toward ensuring effective coordination among crisis responders.

In 2006, workshops and seminars were organised in the framework of NRC(TER) to address terrorism-related issues, for example the seminar on “Countering ideological support for terrorism” held in Germany in September 2006 and the workshop on “Hypermedia seduction for terrorist recruiting “held in Israel in September 2006.

The conference that initiated the cooperation in this framework was organised in Ljubljana in June 2005. This conference gathered policymakers and first responders in order to exchange information on national preparedness and response to terrorist attacks.