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Abstract: September 11, 2001 remains the reference date, as regards terrorism a real threat really internationally, which generated a mobilization and a change of attitude regarding efforts to combat this scourge. The terrorist attacks in Madrid (Spain) and London (United Kingdom) in 2004 and in 2005 led the European Union to take steps to counter this threat to its citizens. But repeated terrorist attacks that targeted the French capital, Paris, in 2015 marked a tragic moment in terms of extreme violence manifestation of terrorism in Europe.
Keywords: terrorism, terrorist attacks, the European Union, security.
RECENT TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THE EU
The terrorist attacks perpetrated in September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center twin towers remain a turning point in terms of the affirmation of a real threat: terrorism. In this sense, Frank Foley said in his book, Countering Terrorism in Britain and France: Institutions, Norms and the Shadow of the Past that "The killing of almost 3.000 people in simultaneous attacks on the economical and military symbols of the world's only superpower also transformed terrorism from one among many threats, to the highest security priority of the western world"1. After the attacks in the USA all countries were faced with a threat that may arise and manifest everywhere.
Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol, made a comparative presentation terrorist actions at global and EU level: "On a global scale, the number of terrorist incidents has been on the increase for more than 10 years, but the numbers of completed, failed and foiled terrorist attacks in the EU are low relative to Africa, South-East Asia and the Middle East, and they are not evenly distributed over the Member States"2. Although relatively rare in European Union member states, terrorist actions are still present. As authors of terrorist acts in addition to terrorist groups organized we note the emergence of a new type of actor - the lone wolf - acting alone, without benefiting from the support of partners, but at the same time being more difficult to monitor and detected by the enforcement authorities.
Thus, on October 11, 2002, in Vantaa, Finland, at the shopping mall, Petri Erkki Tapio Gerdt detonated a bomb. After the explosion 7 persons died and 116 persons were injured. He...