The conclusion of Europol's 2010 review of terrorism is that it continues to pose a high threat to the security of the the EU and its citizens and has become more diverse in its methods and impact.

The EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) presented on the European Parliament showed that in 2010 there were a total of 249 terrorist attacks in the EU, in which seven people died and scores of others were injured.  The TE-SAT is one of Europol's strategic analysis products, providing law enforcement officials, policymakers and the general public with facts, figures and trends on terrorism in the EU.

Most of the attacks reported were attributed to Islamist terrorist groups. One of those, an attempted attack, claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in November 2010 had the capacity to cause possible loss of life for a large number of EU citizens. In overall terms the number of attacks in the EU represents a decrease on the figure for 2009, due largely to a significant decrease in the number of attacks attributed to ETA. However Islamist terrorist groups issued 46 threat statements to interests in the EU, which also represents an increase on 2009.

Thanks of the increased use of the Internet, among other issues, terrorist groups are becoming more diverse and flexible in their methods of operating, with signs of increased collaboration between groups and a growing connection between organised crime and terrorism, especially in regard to financing activities. Some separatist terrorist groups are involved in the trafficking of drugs and human beings to raise funds for their terrorism activities. Meanwhile reported contacts between international drug trafficking groups and Islamist terrorist groups in West Africa raise the possibility that proceeds from organised crime are a source of funding for Islamist terrorist groups operating in the Sahel region.