    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [May 18, 1998]
    [Pages 800-801]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    European Union/United States Joint Statement on Shared Objectives and
    Close Cooperation on Counterterrorism
    May 18, 1998

        1. The United States, the European Union and its member states are
    strategic allies in the global fight against terrorism--a grave threat
    to democracy, and to economic and social development. They oppose
    terrorism in all its forms, whatever the motivation of its perpetrators,
    oppose concessions to terrorists, and agree on the need to resist
    extortion threats. They condemn absolutely not only those who plan or
    commit terrorist acts, but also any who support, finance or harbour
    terrorists. They recognize that terrorism operates on a transnational
    scale, and cannot effectively be dealt with solely by isolated action
    using each individual state's own resources. They work together to
    promote greater international cooperation and coordinated effort to
    combat terrorism by all legal means and in all relevant bilateral and
    multilateral fora--from the Transatlantic Dialogue to the United
    Nations.

    [[Page 801]]

    The International Legal Framework

        2. Extradition and mutual legal assistance arrangements are in
    operation or will be developed between EU partners and the United
    States. The EU and US cooperate in the United Nations framework to
    elaborate the necessary international legal instruments for the fight
    against terrorism. They work in tandem to promote universal adherence to
    the eleven international counter-terrorism conventions. EU partners
    contributed to the rapid and successful negotiation of the most recent
    UN Convention (for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings) based on a
    draft proposed by the US. Now they are cooperating to consider the terms
    of a draft UN Convention on the Suppression of Nuclear Terrorism.

    Areas of current EU/US mutual interest

        3. (i) Terrorist Fund-raising: EU partners are pooling their
    knowledge and experience to work to cut off terrorists' sources of
    funding. They have agreed a set of action points, and their operational
    agencies are working on joint initiatives against terrorist funding. The
    US participated in an EU seminar in 1997 which shaped this work, is
    briefed regularly on current developments in this key area, and will
    take part in a follow-up EU seminar in Vienna in October 1998.
        (ii) Chemical/Biological Terrorism and other threats: During the UK
    Presidency the EU and US have shared their thinking and compared best
    practice in the areas of CB terrorism, Terrorist arms trafficking and
    Bomb scene management.
        (iii) The Middle East Peace Process: The EU briefs the US regularly
    on its current 3-year programme of counter-terrorism cooperation to
    enhance the effectiveness of the Palestinian Authority in this key area,
    including an extensive programme of human rights training. To strengthen
    EU/Palestinian links still further in the fight against terrorism, a
    declaration creating a joint Security Committee was agreed in April
    1998. The Committee now meets regularly to discuss security issues.

    EU/US Consultation and Information Exchange

        4. Policy cooperation is developed bilaterally and at EU/US level.
    Operational cooperation, including intelligence-sharing, is handled
    bilaterally by national law enforcement agencies, and is given high
    priority. To identify and assess the scale of the terrorist threat, the
    EU member states and the US exchange information and assessments on
    terrorist trends and latest developments. The regular meetings on
    counter-terrorism between the US and the EU Troika of the Second and
    Third Pillars are used to exchange views on all aspects of terrorism
    policy, including trends in countries of particular current concern in
    the Middle East and elsewhere. Information is also shared on significant
    developments on either side of the Atlantic, eg the creation of Europol,
    which will include terrorism within its remit soon after its launch. The
    US has updated EU partners on the impact of its decision last October to
    designate 30 foreign terrorist organisations.

    Further Cooperation

        5. While recognising the wide range of work successfully
    accomplished hitherto, both sides see scope to strengthen further their
    close ties in the field of counter-terrorism, and are working to do so--
    by additional information-sharing at their regular Troika meetings,
    enhanced bilateral intelligence exchanges, and sustained cooperation at
    the United Nations and in other fora to advance their common objectives.

    Note: This statement was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on May 18 but was not issued as a White House press release.
    An original was not available for verification of the content of this
    statement.