“A repetition of the unthinkable”

On Tuesday, we carried out an exercise called “Black Dawn” before NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly. In this simulation, a jihadist terrorist network acquires a “dirty bomb” and detonates it outside the gates of NATO’s headquarters. More than 300 representatives from NATO countries attended this exercise that represented this unthinkable tragedy: hundreds of thousands of casualties, severe economic tensions as well as enormous social and environmental suffering
Out of this scenario, two fundamental truths are clear: catastrophic terrorism can and must be prevented and Europe can and must do more in that sense. Though fictional, the Black Down scenario was based on real-world facts. Radical terrorist groups who try to hit military targets in Europe and the United States and acquire enriched uranium exist, and, only in Europe, this material can be found in some 50 research laboratories - sometimes poorly protected.
We have not done enough on both sides of the Atlantic to prevent this scenario. In 1993, the United States implemented a system aiming at improving security in Russian facilities, but it is not enough. Similarly, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative is not enough. It is necessary that the G-8 countries take steps to destroy or protect nuclear material in Europe and around the world. Europe must develop multilateral organizations against terrorism, and the United States and the European Union must come together to fight it.