Global Europe

The United States is again focused on terrorism, and again looking to Europe for help. The Obama administration is seized with the failure of U.S. security agencies to stop Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from boarding a Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with explosives in his underwear, despite intelligence that he was connected to al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists in Yemen known to be planning to attack the United States. Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to ignite the explosives with nearly 300 people on the plane.

The intelligence lapses extended to Europe. The British government had relayed its concerns about Abdulmutallab to the U.S. in May, but those were based on immigration, not terrorism. Abdulmutallab was on a domestic British watch list, but this is not routinely shared with the U.S. or other intelligence services. No intelligence services expressed any concerns to the Yemen government. Lapses in U.S.-UK intelligence support, which is famously close, is a bad portent for cooperation with other allies, which can be far more difficult.

Better intelligence cooperation and more effective airline security are only two elements to address. The Christmas Day plot is emblematic of a far bigger issue. The fact is that the well-being of our societies depends on highly integrated, complex systems that move people, goods and services, money and information around the world. Disruption of such critical functions as transportation, energy flows, medical services, “just-in-time” food supply chains and business systems, communications, and financial networks can have vast consequences for millions. It is our complete reliance on such networks, together with their potential susceptibility to catastrophic disruption, that make them such tempting targets.

In the 21st century, a key task of U.S.-European cooperation is to protect the critical functions of our deeply interconnected societies. Better scanners and better intelligence are only parts of this larger puzzle. Our times call for a strategy of transatlantic resilience -- working together to ensure that the basic structures and critical functions of our interconnected societies remain strong and can continue even in the face of natural or man-made disasters. Such a strategy must involve customs, air and seaport security; equivalent standards for data protection and information exchange; cybersecurity, biodefense and critical infrastructure protection. This effort must begin with the transatlantic community, not only because European societies are so inextricably intertwined, but because no two continents are as deeply connected as the two sides of the North Atlantic.

This approach cannot be based simply on a hodge-podge of national efforts or even strong bilateral arrangements between the U.S. and individual EU member states. While EU member states still have primary responsibility for internal security, the Lisbon Treaty moves virtually all interior and home matters to qualified majority voting, and accords new responsibilities to the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament. The new European External Action Service will also need to focus on the external dimension of internal security. If Europeans and Americans are to be safe at home, the United States need to boost its direct cooperation with EU institutions, and those institutions must take their new responsibilities seriously.

On both sides of the Atlantic there appears to be greater understanding of our mutual dependence in addressing this dimension of our common security. The October 2009 U.S.-EU “Washington Statement” by justice and home affairs ministers set forth common objectives regarding mobility in a secure environment, strengthened law enforcement and judicial cooperation, fostering preparedness and resilience, and protecting individual rights. Instruments of ratification were exchanged for two treaties on mutual legal assistance and extradition that give the transatlantic partners important new tools to fight terrorism and transnational crime. In the wake of the Christmas Day incident the Netherlands, the UK, and Italy have joined Washington in announcing that they will now move to use full body scanners to check passengers. The EU's top anti-terrorism official has called for EU-wide screening standards. The Spanish EU presidency is seeking increased sharing of airline passenger data between member states.

Creating common standards in airline security or reaching a legal accord on data protection will be difficult, given our different legal regimes. Yet it is urgent that we succeed. The Washington Declaration needs to be reinforced by a series of specific initiatives. Consideration should be given to a transatlantic arrest warrant. Joint investigation teams, including Europol and Eurojust, should be established to cooperate on cases that cross international borders. Cooperation should be extended to new areas, including cybercrime, trafficking in humans and drugs, and arms smuggling. A legal and organizational basis for U.S. cooperation with Europol is needed. U.S. cooperation with Frontex, the EU border protection agency, must be improved. The U.S. and EU should consider launching a public-private Global Movement Management Initiative to align security and resilience with commercial imperatives in global movement systems, including shipping, air transport, and even the internet. The EU’s new Stockholm Program places strong emphasis on prevention, opening doors for transatlantic cooperation on upstream security issues related to risk analysis, research, threat assessments, and disaster mitigation.

Finally, as Europeans and Americans improve their own collaboration, they should identify -- very publicly, in word and deed -- their resiliency with that of others and develop a common approach to “forward resilience,” i.e. sharing societal resilience strategies with allies and partners and enhancing joint capacity to defend against threats to interconnected domestic economies and societies. The more we are seen to be aiding partners in tackling the threats they face, the more willing they will be to work with us in addressing the threats and risks we find most challenging. The U.S. and EU should work with other nations to build international connections and arrangements for prevention, response, and recovery in cases of natural or man-made disasters. They should begin with joint efforts in third countries, such as Yemen, Somalia and Saharan Africa, where al-Qaeda is active. There is no time to lose.