Against this backdrop the latest EU declaration is important. While it agreed that fundraising and publicity activities of the LTTE and its frontal organisations in Europe would be curbed, on the other hand member governments are at liberty to take additional national measures. As far as LTTE activities in Europe are concerned, London has been hosting for years the International Secretariat of the organisation. Through its various social, cultural and human rights organisations, LTTE kept on raising funds, recruiting cadres and providing sanctuaries to its top leaders in Europe. Intra-organisation rivalry, gang warfare, forcible collection of funds and recruitment of cadres from the Tamil diaspora and refugee communities settled in Europe have been the distinctive features of LTTE's European activities. European governments were time and again urged by the visiting Sri Lankan leadership to monitor and arrest the activities of LTTE in Europe. Laxman Kadirgamar has also actively persuaded the western governments to check the LTTE activities on their own territory. European governments have often acted upon the Sri Lankan request. For instance, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany (BfV), the German domestic intelligence agency, keeps on monitoring LTTE activities on German soil and mentions these in their annual reports. A look at these reports for 1999-2004, would make the trend clear that LTTE with its present strength of 750 in Germany is facing stagnation, which has a total 50,000-strong Tamil community. The British experience is that even before 9/11, the British Home office under the Terrorism Act 2000 prohibited the LTTE. Facing the prohibition it had to shift its International Secretariat from London to its strong-holds in Sri Lanka. However, LTTE did not figure in the list of 12 organisations prohibited by EU in December 2001. LTTE was equally active in France through a close network of Tamil restaurant owners and entrepreneurs.

Nonetheless, the active consideration by the EU under the present British presidency and especially in the aftermath of suicide bombings in London on 7/7, is indicative of a shift towards taking sterner measures against the terrorist and extremist groups active on European soil. So far these groups have been able to exploit the divergence of rules and positions by different European governments. For instance, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, the global Islamic movement which was banned in Germany in 2003, has been working freely in Britain. In the aftermath of 7/7, the British Prime Minister has announced to ban Hizb-ut-Tahrir. A EU-wide prohibition in this context means amongst others, intelligence sharing amongst the European agencies, a common European arrest warrant, freezing terrorist assets etc. The common European arrest warrant, which has remained a matter of contention amongst the European governments and the judiciary, has recently been implemented by all member states.

Therefore, a likely EU-wide prohibition of LTTE would definitely shrink its activities in Europe. An interesting fact is that the LTTE is also active in non-EU European nations, e.g. Norway and Switzerland. Switzerland hosts a considerable number of Sri Lankan immigrants. At the end of 2002, the total number of Sri Lankans residing in Switzerland was estimated around 39,000. Given the size and population of Switzerland this number is definitely an important one and already the immigration problem is identified as a problem area. LTTE has also been very active in Switzerland. Therefore, Switzerland always remains in the itinerary of the LTTE delegations to Europe led by its political wing leader S P Thamilselvan. Same is the case of Norway. Way back in 2001, the famous Norwegian daily Aftenposten has published an article highlighting the fact how the Norwegian bank accounts are used to finance LTTE. Therefore, in a possible scenario of a EU-wide prohibition of LTTE, it is apprehended that LTTE would try to shift its centre of activities to Norway and Switzerland. It would be of interest to observe how Norway and Switzerland would formulate a coordinated strategy with the EU on the issue of LTTE.