Europol EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2021 - 2020 terrorist attacks and arrests overview

Sep 14, 2026

Europol’s EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2021 provides an overview of terrorism attacks and terrorism-related arrests in the EU during 2020. It covers completed, failed, and foiled attacks across jihadist, right-wing/left-wing, and anarchist categories, alongside detention, arrest, and network dynamics. The report highlights the role of lone actors, prison-related radicalisation and recruitment, and the impacts of COVID-19 travel restrictions and earlier online disruption.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

TE-SAT 2021 scope and country coverage

Overview of 2020 attack counts and arrests

Jihadist terrorism developments

Lone-actor attacks and attack methods

Prison radicalisation and COVID-19 impacts

Right-wing terrorism developments

Germany and foiled attacks in Belgium, France, Germany

Left-wing terrorism and anarchist incidents

Arrest trends and emerging topics

COVID-19 and terrorist modus operandi

Cornelia Riehle News On 22 June 2021, Europol published its EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2021, which gives an overview of terrorist attacks and ter‐ rorism-related arrests in the EU in 2020. For the TE-SAT reports for previous years, → eucrim 2/2020, 95; eucrim 2/2019, 99; and eucrim 2/2018, 97. In three main chapters, the report analyses the situation regarding Jihadist, right-wing/left-wing, and anarchist terrorism. The year 2020 saw a total of 57 completed, failed, and foiled terrorist attacks in six EU Member States, with 21 people dead and 54 people in‐ jured. In addition, 62 terrorist incidents were reported by the UK. EU Member States reported 449 individuals arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offences in the EU in 2020. 185 arrests were reported by the UK. AUTHOR Cornelia Riehle Deputy Head of Section Academy of European Law Published in 2021, Vol. 16(2) eucrim pp 93 – 94 ISSN: 1862-6947 [https://eucrim.eu](https://eucrim.eu) According to the report, more Jihadist terrorist attacks were completed than thwarted in 2020. All 15 of the terrorist attacks ‒ in the EU (10), Switzerland (2 probable terrorist attacks), and the UK (3)‒ were carried out by lone actors from diverse backgrounds, most of them using unsophisticated at‐ tack methods. A considerable number of these perpetrators were released convicts or prisoners, which reveals the effects of Jihadist radicalisation and recruitment in prison as well as the threat stemming from released prisoners. The return of foreign terrorist fighters to Europe in 2020 was affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions with hundreds of Europeans remaining in detention camps in Northeast Syria. Furthermore, the take-down of the messenger service Telegram in 2019 had large effect to decrease Jihadist networking and operating online. Regarding right-wing terrorism, one attack was completed by a lone actor in Germany. Three more right-wing terrorist attacks failed or were foiled in Belgium, France, and Germany. As stated in the report, suspects arrested for planning right-wing terrorist or extremist attacks are increasingly young and some are minors. In the field of left-wing terrorism, Italy reported 24 left-wing and anarchist terrorist attacks and one attack was foiled in France. The number of arrests of left-wing extremists dropped in 2020 by more than a half compared to 2019. Europol found that left-wing and anarchists extremists addressed new topics in 2020, such as scepticism about technological and scientific developments, COVID-19 containment measures and environmental issues. Lastly, the report lists no fundamental changes to the core terrorist modi operandi due to COVID-19 as terror‐ ist groups and individuals tried to integrate the pandemic into their behaviors. About eucrim eucrim is the leading journal which regularly informs about current developments in European criminal and“criministrative” law. All news items are freely accessible at: [https://eucrim.eu/news/](https://eucrim.eu/news/) Stay informed [by emailing to](by emailing to eucrim-subscribe@csl.mpg.de)[ eucrim-subscribe@csl.mpg.de](by emailing to eucrim-subscribe@csl.mpg.de) to receive alerts for new releases of issues. The project is co-financed by the Union Anti-Fraud Programme (UAFP), managed by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) .

FAQs

What does the TE-SAT 2021 report cover?

It provides an overview of terrorist attacks and terrorism-related arrests in the EU in 2020, and analyses the situation across jihadist, right-wing/left-wing, and anarchist terrorism in three main chapters.

How many terrorist attacks and related effects were recorded in 2020?

In six EU Member States, there were 57 completed, failed, and foiled terrorist attacks, with 21 people dead and 54 injured, and the UK reported 62 terrorist incidents.

What factors influenced jihadist terrorism activity in 2020?

More jihadist attacks were completed than thwarted. The report points to lone actors, prison radicalisation and recruitment, COVID-19 travel restrictions affecting foreign fighters, and the earlier takedown of Telegram reducing jihadist online networking.

Sep 14, 2026

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