In this interview excerpt, Gérard Deprez, Member of the European Parliament from 1984 to 1999 (European People’s Party (EPP)), from 1999 to 2004 (Citizens’ Movement for Change (MCC)), from 2004 to 2009 and since 2014 (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)) and Chairman of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs from 2008 to 2009, shares his memories of the introduction of the post of European Union Counter-terrorism Coordinator in 2004. He particularly refers to Gijs de Vries, who held this post from 2004 to 2007, and Gilles de Kerchove, who has held the role since 2007.