The EU Engagement in Protracted Crisis

Towards a Comprehensive Approach?

Autores

  • Matthias Deneckere Policy Officer in the Conflict, Security and Resilience Programme of ECDPM (European Centre for Development Policy Management). Among his domains of interest are crisis prevention and response, humanitarian and conflict issues, and the institutional, political and financial aspects of EU security and development policies. He has worked on several research projects for the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, amongst others. Before joining ECDPM in 2014, Matthias worked at the UNESCO Representative to the European Union, at DSW (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung), and at the Embassy of Belgium in Washington, D.C. Matthias holds an MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and a MA in English and German Linguistics and Literature from Ghent University (Belgium).
  • Volker Hauck Head of the Programme on Conflict, Security and Resilience. He joined ECDPM in 1998 as Senior Programme Officer Capacity Development and worked as Head of Knowledge Management and Communication from 2007 to 2012. With Masters in political science/international relations (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and public administration (post-graduate University of Speyer, Germany) his experience and publications are on capacity development with a focus on situations of fragility, political economy and domestic accountability, financing, decentralisation, technical assistance and organizational change. He was a team member and leader of numerous studies and evaluations relating to (EU) crisis response, peacebuilding and development support. He managed long-term organizational reform processes and developed ECDPM’s strategy on knowledge management and communication. Before joining ECDPM, he has worked in Africa and Europe with the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies at the interface of linking relief, rehabilitation and development. Throughout his professional career, he has gained extensive field research experience as well as practical exposure to international cooperation projects from his living and working in Africa, Asia and South America.
  • Cristina Barrios Policy Officer at the Conflict, Security and Resilience Programme. Cristina works on security, political risk, state-building and development cooperation, notably in countries in the Sahel and the Great Lakes regions. Before joining ECDPM, Cristina was a Policy Advisor at the Strategic Planning division of the European External Action Service in the European Union (EU), working on the reflection and outreach process for the 2016 EU Global Strategy, and a Senior Analyst in EU-Africa relations at the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). Cristina has ample experience in policy-related and academic environments in Europe and Africa; she has also worked as an independent consultant in democracy promotion and security for numerous institutions, and as electoral observer in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has published extensively and featured in media as a commentator of European policies and African security. Cristina holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a Masters in European Studies from University of Paris 8; as an undergraduate student, she attended University of Granada (Spain), University of Regensburg (Germany), and University of California at Berkeley

Resumo

Protracted crisis situations often last for years or decades, and derive from a complex mix of factors such as violent conflict, natural disasters, poverty, natural resources scarcity, institutional fragility, political instability, and limited economic opportunity. As they feature both emergency needs and structural vulnerabilities, protracted crises require a comprehensive approach that brings different actors and policy communities together under single political leadership, focusing on a common objective of paving the way to stability, resilience and development. This article addresses the question of whether the European Union (EU) is well positioned to respond comprehensively to such protracted crises. It explores a diversity of EU financing instruments as these are ‘enablers’ for the EU comprehensive approach, also taking into account the role of EU Member States. In fact, the EU has a wide array of financial instruments and mechanisms available to address protracted crises and to pursue different objectives across short – and longer-term time horizons. However, their comprehensive use is seriously constrained by the fragmentation of EU decision-making, strategic incoherence, and overlapping instrument mandates. EU institutions have made serious efforts to overcome such limitations, including through a harmonization of concepts and strategies. Furthermore, mechanisms for coordination and information exchange at the political and operational levels allow for collaborative responses. However, many of these technical solutions can only bring limited results in the absence of clear political leadership driving EU external action.

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Publicado

2024-10-03

Edição

N.º 144 (2016): The EU Comprehensive Approach

Secção

Artigos