The Berlin Pride attack has reignited questions over whether Europe is adequately monitoring individuals with a history of radicalisation and terrorism-related convictions who may pose a threat, particularly when suspects move across borders.
There is no EU-wide register or official estimate of the number of individuals with established links to terrorism who are being monitored. Europol officials told Euronews that intelligence and security services operate at the national level, with each country applying its own legal definitions, surveillance thresholds and monitoring systems.
Suspect on police radar since 2022
The issue has come into focus after German authorities identified the suspect in the Berlin attack as 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese descent known to police for previous violent offences and links to Islamist circles.
Authorities are treating the incident, which claimed the life of one woman and injured 29 others, as an Islamist terrorist attack. The suspect was later shot dead by police.
