Why Europe needs closer Intelligence cooperation

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success,” said Henry Ford, an American entrepreneur who, like no one else, saw opportunities for the future. In the security domain, cooperation is all the more important. And it is truer still for counterterrorism.

Indeed, cooperation in intelligence is indispensable in the fight against global terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. Information exchange, joint operations and collaboration in intelligence analysis between states – all those approaches ease the way to disrupting plots and thwarting terrorist cells.

And this, alas, is a pressing task today. Experts say that the IS Khorasan (ISIS-K) terrorist group, which was responsible for a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall, is becoming increasingly focused on Europe. Germany, for instance, has recently charged seven men from Central Asia for plotting high-profile terror attacks on behalf of ISIS-K.

Meanwhile, analysts warn that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games could be a potential target. France has already raised the terrorist threat level to the highest and is not going to lower it in the coming months. Additionally, French authorities asked their international partners to provide extra security personnel to help guard the major sporting event.

“Terrorism is by its nature a global threat, especially jihadism,” said Marco Lombardi, professor at the Italy-based Catholic University of Sacred Heart. “In its best time, ISIS was spread across more than 40 countries and had nearly 50 affiliated groups,” he elaborated.

“The structure of the Islamic State was flexible and used strategic communication towards the outside as a propaganda tool and towards the inside as a tool