In the last decade, the relationship between organized crime and terrorism has been comprehensively investigated. The crime–terror nexus, in particular, has been used as an analytical model to understand the level of interactions and convergence. Since the issue of ESS, the EU is concerned about terrorist groups financing and the use of violent tactics by criminals and the effects these phenomena produce within and outside its borders and, in a broader perspective and following the more recent events, on the global security. The paper is focused on the analysis of CSDP missions to tackle crime and terrorism and on the following research questions:
Q1 Is the crime-terror nexus producing an impact on the EU (and on the CSDP agenda?)
Q2 Can the use of CSDP missions represent an effective tool?
Q3 Is that EU approach destined to continue or to be changed?
The paper is divided into three parts. Firstly, an analysis of the nexus and its reconceptualization as a security threat is presented. Secondly, the integrated strategy developed by the EU is evaluated within the development of CSDP. Lastly, the empirical assessment of missions is used to make a preliminary investigation of their impact as a ‘counterstrategy’ tool.
