Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

It was announced in Brussels that the Council of Member States has decided to strengthen the scope of the European Union's restrictive measures to combat terrorism by expanding the listing criteria to include:

Allowing the EU to target key members of groups and entities listed on the EU list who play a pivotal role in planning, facilitating, preparing, or carrying out terrorist acts.

Allowing the imposition of restrictive measures against individuals, groups, and entities associated with those involved in terrorist acts, including through their involvement in financing terrorism or training and recruiting terrorists.

The Council also imposed a travel ban on listed individuals, in addition to freezing their assets and preventing them from accessing any funds or economic resources. A European statement added that, furthermore, the Council also concluded its periodic review of the list of individuals, groups, and entities subject to restrictive measures for their involvement in terrorist acts and left the list unchanged. Those listed remain subject to asset freezes and are prohibited from receiving any funds or economic resources from EU actors.

In its conclusions of 16 December 2024 on strengthening internal and external links in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, the Council affirmed that terrorism and violent extremism, in all their forms and regardless of their origin, continue to pose a significant threat to the security of the Union and its Member States.

According to the statement, the EU terrorist list, i.e., the EU counter-terrorism sanctions regime, is separate from the EU regime that implements UN Security Council Resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), and 2253 (2015), which targets Al-Qaeda and Daesh.

The EU may also apply restrictive measures independently to Daesh, Al-Qaeda, and individuals and entities associated with or supporting them.

The EU terrorist list is also separate from the sanctions framework adopted in January 2024, which targets those who support, facilitate, or enable violent acts by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.