Samenvatting

This final paper is meant to inform about the fight against terrorism within the European Union and the United States. It will answer the following research question:
What are the main differences between the European Union and the United States in the field of fighting terrorism? How does the European Union policy (EU policy) and United States policy (US policy) affect the relationship between those continents?
The ways which the European Union and the United States fight terrorism differ enormously from each other, because they both have their own strategy for fighting terrorism. Therefore, the European Union use the EU policy in the same way the United States use the US policy. A special focus is given on the EU Counter-Terrorism strategy, and for the United States a close look is taken at the Terrorist Information Awareness programme as well as the National Strategy. The EU and US policy have a few similarities, but also a few differences. In the end, both strategies have the same purpose, namely combat terrorism and create a world without the threat of terrorists and terrorist attacks. To better understand the main differences between the European Union and the United States in the field of fighting terrorism it is important to go back in history. The world has to deal with a lot of different types of terrorism, for example, anarchistic, nationalistic, or left-wing and right-wing terrorism, but the main focus of this final paper will be religious terrorism, because Islamic terrorists and organizations are presently the most active and greatest threats worldwide. Between 1980 and 1995, the terrorist groups with a religious motivation for their actions increased by 43 percent of all terror groups.
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001 the United States and European Union work closely together to combat terrorism. In history, the United States and the European Union did not share the same opinion in the field of cooperation, but they currently all see that it is important to work closely together with other countries and continents to globally combat terrorism. One main difference, for example, is that they help each other with the exchange of passenger data such as, confidential data or addresses of possible terrorists. These changes have made a large difference in the way the European Union and the United States fight terrorism. It makes the world stronger.