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=** ​ Tasking ** = = = = = =**The Western Europe Regional Report wiki was created for the Intelligence Studies course, Writing for Intelligence (RIAP 275). The wiki was designed by a small team of four analysts who were tasked to distribute a Wiki product to the decision maker that analyzed the transnational issues throughout the Western Europe region. The product focuses specifically on the role of Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain in Western Europe and the individual analysts have studied these nations intensively for the past eight weeks. ** =

 **Regional Key Findings**  **Belgium Key Findings**
 * [[image:immigration.jpg align="right" caption="Routes of illegal immigration from Africa to Western Europe. Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime"]]It is likely the four primary transnational issues in the Western Europe region will remain organized crime, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and terrorism.
 * Human trafficking and prostitution rings will likely continue to be a key transnational issue in Western Europe, particularly in Belgium and Spain, although not as prominent as organized crime, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and terrorism.
 *  It is likely a majority of transnational issues in Western Europe stem from organized crime and their networks of operation, including illicit drugs, human trafficking, and facilitating illegal immigrants to enter certain nations. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Organized crime is a transnational issues of particular concern because it is evident Italian organized crime syndicates are expanding into bordering nations in Western Europe, such as Germany and Belgium.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,fantasy; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It is evident Western Europe, specifically Italy and Spain due to their geographic location, serves as a gateway for the entrance of illicit drugs and illegal immigration into the European Union (EU) and can then travel easily within the EU due to <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,fantasy;">the Schengen Convention.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,-webkit-fantasy; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It is evident the majority of illicit drugs in Western Europe are produced in South America and southwest Asia.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,-webkit-fantasy; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">In Western Europe, the majority of illegal immigrants originate from African countries, particularly North Africa.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,-webkit-fantasy; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It is likely the largest terrorism threat in Western Europe, and the EU as a whole, stems from Islamic terrorist groups.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,-webkit-fantasy;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 24px;">**Germany Key Findings**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">It is likely many of Belgium's transnational problems develop and persist due to the high number of illegal immigrants within the country.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">It is likely the movement of people, drugs, and sex workers from Belgium into other EU states will continue to pose transnational problems and foreign organized crime rings are predominantly responsible for these issues.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Belgium is a center for the transportation of illicit drugs including marijuana, cocaine, heroine, and hashish into Western Europe.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Belgium's lenient residency requirements and a recently enforced immigration law will likely pose problems for neighboring countries attempting to keep out immigrants.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">The poor quality of conditions and treatment of foreign workers likely affects drug use among immigrants and causes women and underage children to enter prostitution.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,-webkit-fantasy;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 24px;">**Italy Key Findings**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is likely that drug trafficking, radical Islamic terrorism, and illegal immigration are the most pressing transnational issues currently facing Germany.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Germany acts as a source of chemicals for South American drug production, as well as a transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin and a financial center for drug cartels.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Radical Islamic terrorism is an imminent threat to Germany and the German government recently raised the terrorism alert level after three videos made by Islamic terrorists circulated throughout Germany.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Illegal immigration poses a threat to Germany due to the increased numbers of immigrants and the benefits that they could potentially receive from the German government.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,-webkit-fantasy;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 24px;">**Spain Key Findings**  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is likely Italy's primary transnational issues will continue to be illegal immigration, illicit drugs, and internal organized crime syndicates.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Illegal immigration in Italy stems mainly from the North African countries of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, inciting ethnic conflicts that can lead to violence and creating unstable unemployment rates.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Italy's geographic location makes the country a gateway for illicit drugs entering the EU, particularly cocaine and heroin from Latin American, southwest Asia, and the Middle East.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Internal Italian organized crime syndicates are expanding into Italy's bordering nations, such as Germany, and Eastern European crime syndicates, particularly Bulgarian and Albanian, also create a prominent transnational issue in Italy.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is likely the transnational issues of organized crime and terrorism pose the most significant threat to Spain.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">It Is highly likely organized crime groups will remain involved and become more involved with crimes such as migrant smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, and drug trafficking.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Organized crime groups target Spain, in part, because of its geographic location it serves as an entry point into the EU.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is also highly likely that Islamic and Separatist terrorist groups make up the largest terrorism based threat to the EU, and primarily Spain.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Go To: Short Form Analytic Reports