Global Courant
BRUSSELS
The EU will examine Sweden’s amendments to the anti-terrorism law, approved by the Swedish parliament on 3 May.
According to the information given by the spokesperson of the EU Commission to Anadolu, the anti-terror law that came into force in Sweden in June will also be examined by the EU. The reason for this is the “violation of EU rules” mechanism, which came into effect in 2021.
The EU Commission initiated a rule violation procedure against Stockholm in 2021 on the grounds that certain elements in the EU’s anti-terrorism rules were not correctly reflected in Sweden’s anti-terrorism laws.
The Commission made a formal notification to the Swedish government in November 2021. The EU said its demands were not “transferred in accordance with Swedish law”.
These include criminalizing and punishing terrorism-related acts such as “going abroad to commit a terrorist crime, returning to the EU after such an act, and traveling on EU soil for such activities, training in terrorism and financing terrorism”.
EU rules also contain specific provisions, such as ensuring victims of terrorism have access to reliable information and providing victims of terrorist attacks with professional and specialized support services immediately after the attacks or for as long as necessary.
These rules, which the EU sees as an important part of its anti-terrorism agenda, had to be transposed into national laws by the member states by 8 September 2018.
As part of this ongoing infringement procedure, the EU will review and evaluate Sweden’s new anti-terrorism law.
In Sweden, the law took effect on 1 June.
As part of the constitutional amendment approved by the Swedish parliament on 3 May, the law entered into force on 1 June. The law was one of Turkey’s main demands for the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership.
The law, which aims to criminalize membership in terrorist organizations in the country, provides for up to four years in prison for those who participate in terrorist activities and cooperate with terrorist organizations.
According to the law, those who participate in activities to support, strengthen or encourage a terrorist organization can be sentenced to up to four years in prison. If there are aggravating factors, the penalty for these crimes will be a minimum of two and a maximum of eight years in prison.
The law also gives authorities much broader powers to arrest and prosecute those who finance or otherwise support terrorist organisations.
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