UN Report Blames EU for Failing to Combat Al Qaeda Funding

European Union officials rejected United Nations accusations earlier this week that Europe has not done enough to combat Al-Qaeda’s funding abilities.

The rejection came after disclosure of details of a draft UN report due to be published next week, which states that despite international sanctions and freezing of numerous bank accounts, Al Qaeda still has enough financial resources to fund future attacks.

The 43-page report, which was leaked to the public on Thursday, was written by a UN monitoring group in charge of enforcement against Al Qaeda and its associates. It states, among other things, that European vigilance of suspicious bank accounts has fallen off significantly in the past eight months.

More than $112 million in assets were frozen in the months following the Sept. 11 attacks. Since December, the EU has frozen only $10 million (€10.3 million) in funds.

The slowdown could have a damaging effect on the attempt to crack down on Al Qaeda's financial operations, according to the report.

The UN also criticizes that some European nations are releasing a portiong of the frozen funds back to the suspects so they can pay for their rent and other basic necessities, as has happened in Switzerland.

Al Qaeda still has some $300 million in funds, the UN says, through such means as inheritance, donations through private or charitable organizations, and investments.

Controversial subject between EU and US

Freezing terrorist organizations' assets is a highly controversial topic between the US and its European allies.

Since the September 11 attacks, numerous countries have showed their reluctance in committing themselves to what they regard as an indiscriminate procedure of selecting people whose assets must be frozen.

These nations say they are unwilling to supercede their national laws or to curtail their judicial processes in order to freeze anybody’s finances, especially when there is no definitive proof of an individual’s Al Qaeda links.

Euope's monitoring system said to have failed

The report also takes issue with the EU's computer immigration monitoring system, which it says fails to include all of the 219 individuals listed on the UN Security Council’s list of terrorist suspects.

But the EU continues to stress the significant role that Europe has played in the campaign against terrorism, especially the increasingly significant role played by Europol, the EU's central policy agency.

“There’s no way we can be accused of not doing enough,” a EU Commission told the Financial Times.

Focus on EU

While the report does mention some African and Asian countries for failing to do more in combating Al Qaeda funding, the focus is on Europe, where investigators believe terrorist cells planned and financed the Sept. 11 attacks.

However, the report itself has been under criticism for failing to provide sources to establish the facts. This includes citing unidentified government sources and terrorism experts.

Even the US Treasury says the survey is incomplete. Previous UN reports on the matter have also been strongly criticized for containing inaccuracies and failing to support facts.