While Member States bear primary responsibility in the field of security, the Commission has taken a number of initiatives in the framework of the European Agenda on Security[1] and the Security Union communication[2], to assist Member States in the fight against terrorism:

• —the directive on combating terrorism[3] provides an updated and harmonised definition of terrorist offences;
• —border security has been strengthened through the revision of the Schengen Borders Code[4] introducing mandatory checks on all travellers, the adoption of the Passenger Name Record Directive[5], the establishment of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency[6] and the deployment of Europol and Frontex in the ‘hotspots’;
• —information exchange is constantly being improved with proposals to reinforce the Schengen Information System (SIS)[7], to establish the Entry-Exit System (EES)[8] and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)[9] and to improve interoperability[10];
• —to improve operational cooperation, the Commission has strengthened Europol's European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC)[11];
• —the High-Level Commission Expert Group on radicalisation[12] will advise on how to improve cooperation and collaboration in the prevention of radicalisation, and assist the Commission in the further development of EU policies.

More details can be found in the monthly Security Union Progress Reports[13] adopted by the Commission, in particular the package of anti-terrorism measures presented on 18 October 2017.[14]

• [1] COM(2015) 185, 28.4.2015.
• [2] COM(2016) 230, 20.4.2016.
• [3] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2017:088:FULL
• [4] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2017.074.01.0001.01.ENG
• [5] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/681/oj
• [6] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R1624
• [7] COM(2016) 882 and 883, 21.12.2016.
• [8] COM(2016) 194, 6.4.2016.
• [9] COM(2016) 731, 16.11.2016.
• [10] COM(2017) 407, 26.7.2017.
• [11] COM(2016) 602, 14.9.2016.
• [12] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32017D0803(01)
• [13] https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-security/legislative-documents_en
• [14] COM(2017) 608, 18.10.2017.