In Their Eyes: How European Security Services Look at Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism, 2026 Edition

Different databases, initiatives and reports aim to capture the state of the terrorist threat to a given country or region. It is less often, however, that these products focus on counter-terrorism, nor do they feature the views of frontline practitioners on terrorism.

This ICCT report addresses that gap. Drawing on 41 official counter-terrorism and security reports from 23 EU Member States, complemented by inputs from CT and P/CVE experts across fifteen European countries, more than 30 governmental websites, and over 100 news articles, this second edition captures both the operational realities and strategic priorities of countering terrorism in Europe. It finds a threat that remains persistent yet increasingly decentralised, digitally mediated, and entangled with geopolitical conflict, organised crime, and state-linked hybrid activity - from Russia's crime-terror nexus to Iranian proxy networks targeting Jewish and Israeli interests. In short, it asks: how do counter-terrorism services assess the threat in Europe? What trends do they notice? What are their most pressing concerns? And how do they respond?

ICCT will continue to return to the question of how "they" see the threat of terrorism in annual updates to this report, tracking both the latest national security reporting across the EU and the perspectives of the practitioners on its front line.

Photo Credit: Jannik on Unsplash