During the Brussels lockdown in November 2015. Demotix/Arie Asona. All rights reserved.
For more than a decade, European states have pointed fingers at America for sacrificing its freedoms in the fight against terror: the Patriot Act, waterboarding and Guantanamo cited as prime examples of measures incompatible with Europe’s self-understanding. But since the November Paris attacks the gloves have come off, and Europeans are scrambling down from the moral high ground from which they previously judged American counter-terrorism measures.
A three-month state of emergency in France, a lock down in Brussels, Europe’s capital, a new directive that criminalizes foreign fighters and their enablers, and tougher anti-terrorism laws on the way in many countries all signal a marked shift in the European agenda, in comparison to the incremental measures of previous years.
