Towards supranational governance in EU counter-terrorism? - The role of the Commission and the Council Secretariat

New security threats have emerged as major new areas of policy development in the European Union, especially during the 'war on terror'. This paper makes two significant points that counter theoretical expectations of EU counter-terrorism. Both are derived from an analysis of empirical events of EU practice. Firstly, it argues that it is vital to analyse EU institutional actor behaviour in the process of 'constructing security threats', especially when dealing with the responses to international terrorism. Secondly, despite the importance of member states in the European Union, institutional actors such as the European Commission or the Council Secretariat are increasingly gaining in importance. The Commission can (though not always does) play a significant role in this process - the role of a supranational policy entrepreneur. Yet, it is not alone in this - the Council Secretariat can also add to the notion of policy entrepreneurship at the EU level. This argument reveals shortcomings of intergovernmental understanding of European integration in the area of counter-terrorism. The paper analyses different dimensions of EU counter-terrorism, its legal and political construction, and demonstrates the significance of supranational policy entrepreneurs in the political adoption process