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Left Wing Extremism

Violent left-wing and anarchist extremism in Europe is diverse across countries but generally poses a low, though increasing, threat. Groups are unstructured and carry out small-scale attacks like arson, while promoting propaganda online. Targets include property, police, financial institutions, and right-wing groups. Financing is minimal due to low-cost methods. Authorities see this as primarily a public order issue, though the threat is evolving. Cooperation across stakeholders is important to address this phenomenon holistically.

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3K views

Left Wing Extremism

Violent left-wing and anarchist extremism in Europe is diverse across countries but generally poses a low, though increasing, threat. Groups are unstructured and carry out small-scale attacks like arson, while promoting propaganda online. Targets include property, police, financial institutions, and right-wing groups. Financing is minimal due to low-cost methods. Authorities see this as primarily a public order issue, though the threat is evolving. Cooperation across stakeholders is important to address this phenomenon holistically.

Uploaded by

Web Adevarul
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Violent Left-Wing & Anarchist Extremism

General remarks
• The presence of and the threat from violent left-wing & anarchist extremists in Europe has long been
very diverse and differs significantly per country;
• The VLWAE scene is largely uncharted by the EU MS competent authorities although there are
exceptions;
• A general assessment is that the threat stemming from a heterogeneous violent left-wing and anarchist
extremism scene at EU level is still considered to be low but increasing, due to the fact that more
Member States are being exposed to this kind of violence;
• The pandemic had an effect on all forms of left wing and anarchist extremist activities.
• The high financial damage caused by some attacks is disproportional to the low-tech and low-cost
nature of the devices used.

Europol Public Information


Overview of the situation at EU level
• Mainly considered as a “public order” issue by the EU MS;
• Their activity is consistent with trends observed across the EU:
 form unstructured groups operating in and around specific urban areas;
 perpetrate small-scale attacks against public and private property;
 participate in rallies and protests during which they attempt violent acts;
 collect funds for imprisoned like-minded people; and
• They seek participation in high-profile events with extensive media coverage,
i.e. the Hamburg G20 Summit in 2017 or the Summit of EU Heads of State and
Government in Salzburg in 2018, etc
• International networking

Europol Public Information


Actors in the Violent Left Wing & Anarchist Extremism scene

Groups: No organisation or group can be considered to pose an imminent threat to the EU’s security.

Lone actors: “Lone actor” attacks should be considered uncommon, however they cannot be excluded, especially
since the “direct action” principle is inherent to the most violent variants of anarchist ideology.

Insurrectionary anarchism: Calls for a never ending fight against the perceived domination of the State and capitalism
or other forms of oppression

Returning Foreign Fighters: Left-wing & anarchist extremists who have returned from the Kurdish-populated areas of
north-east Syria (Rojava) having joined Kurdish militias

Europol Public Information


Manifestation of the threat

The main means used by left-wing & anarchist violent extremists:


• Arson attacks or in some occasions arson campaigns; the improvised incendiary
devices (IIDs) are mostly unsophisticated, but even the more sophisticated ones are
made of items readily available on the market, not requiring special preparation or
specific knowledge;
• Unsophisticated rudimentary improvised explosive devices (IEDs), made of low-cost
items readily available on the market;
• Blunt weapons or even bodily force during clashes with the police or RWE group
members or sympathisers.
• Vandalism in the form of destruction of property or graffiti
The likelihood of using firearms is assessed as very low.
Europol Public Information
Targets

Indicative violent left-wing & anarchist extremists targets:


• Right-wing extremists, representatives and premises of right-wing political parties;
• Public and private property, i.e. telecommunications’ infrastructure (including 5G
antennas), office buildings, real estate agencies, ATMs, vehicles, etc;
• Police personnel and infrastructure;
• Government property;
• Banks and financial institutions;
• National and multinational companies;
• Migration-related private businesses;
• etc…
Europol Public Information
Financing

No specific information available on how Violent left-wing violent & anarchist extremists
finance their activities
• However the low-cost of the components used in the rudimentary improvised
incendiary or explosive devices indicate that not much financing is needed
• Propaganda activities are mostly conducted online thus no financial resources are
needed

Europol Public Information


Use of Internet and Internet based applications
• Claim responsibility for their attacks, to spread their propaganda, to
“communicate” with like-minded individuals and groups and to recruit
new members;
• The online dissemination of propaganda material is gradually replacing
the “traditional” means such as pamphlets, magazines or books;
• New “themes” linked to the pandemic are and will likely continue to be in
the epicentre of the propaganda;
• To secure their communications, VLWA extremists prefer to use encrypted
technological solutions when communicating with each other or browsing
the Internet.

Europol Public Information


Final remarks

• The threat deriving from Violent Left Wing & Anarchist Extremism at EU
level can be described as increasing and evolving

• For a holistic approach, contribution from other key stakeholders is crucial

• Is violent extremism an antechamber to terrorism, in the sense that it


provides fertile ground for radicalisation and recruitment?

Europol Public Information

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