DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS The financing of the ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ABSTRACT Threatening both its caliphate project and its sources of funding, the series of military setbacks that the so-called Islamic State group (IS) has suffered for several months have called into question the group’s very existence. That is not to say that its offensive capabilities will be neutered – the organisation will remain able to employ ’low-cost‘ terrorist attacks to target civilians throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe, America or Asia. In mobilising Member States to fight against terrorism, the European Parliament’s role is crucial. Individually, Member States have an important part to play in effectively implementing common decisions. Their varying levels of engagement, as well as the progress they have made in confronting the financing of terrorism and especially IS, should be considered. An annual reporting framework should be put into place to better evaluate the measures taken by both Member States and the Commission in this area. EP/EXPO/B/AFET/FWC/2013-08/LOT6/13 EN September 2017 - PE 603.835 © European Union, 2017 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies This paper was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs. English-language manuscript was completed on 11 September 2017. Printed in Belgium. Authors: Agnès LEVALLOIS, Associate researcher, FRS, France; Jean-Claude COUSSERAN, Associate researcher, FRS, France; Cartographical support: Lionel KERRELLO, Owner, Geo4I, France Official Responsible: Jérôme LEGRAND. Editorial Assistant: Ifigeneia ZAMPA. Feedback of all kind is welcome. Please write to:
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