THE European Union (EU) has promised to embark on its biggest ever crackdown on Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists after giving itself sanctioning powers.
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European Council politicians, headed up by Donald Tusk, agreed on Tuesday the bloc can now apply wide reaching sanctions to ISIS and Al Qaeda - and any groups associated with or supporting them.
Sanctions could only previously be applied to people or organisations listed by the United Nations (UN) or by individual EU member states.
As of Tuesday the EU can now impose travel bans on individuals - or foreign fighters - they believe are due to head to Syria or other jihadist held states.
Officials can also freeze the assets of individuals and groups identified as being associated with either of the two twisted terrorist organisations which have killed thousands in the Middle East and in terrorist attacks across the world.
This means all of their assets within the EU will be frozen and any EU citizen or organisation will be banned from providing funds to those people or groups.
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The new law reaches even further to include anybody who has taken part in the planning or perpetrating of terrorist attacks or who have provided financing, oil or arms to the jihadist groups.
And anybody who has received terrorist training from them will also be prosecuted.
Following several horrific, fatal terrorist attacks across western Europe over the past two years, including in France and Brussels - where the EU is based - the bloc has decided to take matters into its own hands.
Under EU law now, anybody within the bloc will be placed on a list which the laws will apply to if they recruit, incite or publicly provoke acts and activities supporting ISIS and Al Qaeda.
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A statement from the EU says people or groups will also be listed for “being involved in serious abuses of human rights outside the EU, including abduction, rape, sexual violence, forced marriage and enslavements of persons”.
The law will also extend to travel bans from foreign fighters who are not EU citizens to prevent them from entering a member state.
If an EU national is listed as a foreign fighter they will be banned from going to any other EU member state other than their own.
Until the UK leaves the EU the country and its citizens will be party to the new laws, on top of British terror laws already in place.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman, said: “We welcome this action.
“It is an important part of the international community’s efforts to cut groups like Daesh and al Qaeda off from the financial system.
“We have a comprehensive strategy to defeat Daesh, working as part of the 67 member Global Coalition, in which we continue to play a leading role.”
The European Council, made up of leaders of each member state, has no formal power to pass laws but it is thought the European Commission will pass the new law without question.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/713066/EU-sanction-ISIS-Al-Qaeda-jihadists?