Keeping the peace and preventing conflict

EU Member States: Active peacekeepers under UN auspices

The European Union is deeply committed to the primary role of the UN in maintaining international peace and security and its core function of peacekeeping, as mandated by the Security Council (8). This commitment is confirmed by EU Member States major contributions of troops, police officers, and observers to UN operations, which totalled 3 259 personnel, or 9.0 % of the UN total in June 2003. When the contributions of the 10 acceding countries are added, the figures rise to 4 801 and 13.2 %, respectively. Furthermore, the EU is by far the largest troop contributor to other peace missions under the authority of the UN Security Council, even if not directly run by the UN. This is the case with two large peacekeeping operations in the Balkans: SFOR, which operates in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and KFOR in Kosovo, in connection with the UN Mission UNMIK. In these operations, troop contributions by EU Member States comprise about 60 % of the total. In Africa, more than 20 000 personnel from the EU Member States were serving under a UN mandate in April 2003. The share of the EU-25 in the UN peacekeeping budget is around 39 % of the world total at present, making the Union by far the largest contributer. By paying their assessed contributions on time and in full, EU Member States play a decisive role in ensuring that peacekeeping activities continue to function smoothly.
EU personnel contributions to UN peacekeeping operations (as of January 2004)
Member State Austria Belgium Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU-25 Total
Source: UN DPKO.

452 15 0 35 64 2 239 320 287 27 141 531 161 0 8 0 0 282 740 565 500 15 23 180 558 5 145

(8)

Two EU Member States France and the United Kingdom are permanent members, and other EU Member States frequently serve as rotating members.

Major contributors to the UN peacekeeping budget 2003 (%)

Rest of world 15

EU-25 39 Japan 19

United States 27

Source: UN DPKO.

Kofi Annan and Pat Cox (January 2004)

Photo: European Parliament

Additional EU means available through the CFSP

The objectives of the EUs common foreign and security policy are, among other things, to strengthen the security of the Union in all ways and to preserve peace and strengthen international security, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Through the CFSP, the EU expresses its position on the international stage and acts in a consistent fashion where there is a common interest for its Member States. The Council of the European Union plays a vital role in implementing this policy, to which the European Commission is fully associated. Beyond the general representation of the EU by the rotating Member State presidency, the CFSP is also permanently represented by the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, the High Representative for the CFSP. As part of the CFSP, the Union is developing a European security and defence policy that embraces all issues relating to its security and to its crisis management capacity.

Necessary decision-making procedures and structures, as well as planning tools and concepts, are now in place. The Union may thus decide to undertake military operations and/or carry out missions in the fields of policing, the rule of law, civilian administration and civil protection. Faced with a crisis, the EU now has at its disposal the whole range of tools economic, diplomatic and military to deal with such situations. Military capabilities The EUs capability to undertake military crisis-management operations implies that it can deploy credible and efficient military forces. The Helsinki European Council of December 1999 set the objective: a military capacity of 50 000 to 60 000 men, supported by corresponding air and naval resources, to be operational in 2003 at the latest, deployable in less than two months and able to remain in the field for more than a year. Civilian capabilities The following capabilities have been pledged by EU Member States to be brought under collective management: police: availability of up to 5 000 policemen, of whom 1 400 can be deployed in less than a month; strengthening of the rule of law: availability of around 300 public prosecutors, judges, and prison service officers to supplement the work carried out by the police forces in crisis situations;

EU-led crisis management operations The European Union can undertake the following types of crisis management operations: humanitarian and search-and-rescue operations, as well as evacuation; peacekeeping operations; combat missions and peacemaking.

EU Police Mission Commissioner Sven Frederiksen and the EUSR Lord Paddy Ashdown urge police municipal leaders to work together to build confidence on a visit to Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 2003.
Photo: EUPM.

EU High Representative Javier Solana addresses the UN Security Council on the Artemis EU Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, July 2003.
UN/DPI photo by Mark Garten.

civilian administration, for which a pool of experts has been established; civil protection, with experts and intervention teams that can be mobilised at very short notice.

gerous situation under difficult circumstances. The EUs High Representative for the CFSP shall act as primary point of contact with the UN, providing regular reports to the Security Council on implementation of the operations mandate. These EU-led crisis management operations illustrate progress towards the implementation of a common European security and defence policy, as well as the EUs will to intervene in crises and to promote stability. Thus, the Union is responding to one of the concerns most clearly expressed by its citizens: namely, Europes ability to guarantee its own security and to assert itself as an important player on the international stage (9).
The European Union is a new player in the field of conflict management. The EU should integrate this new dimension, and build procedures and an identity for itself in this field that are specific to it, in order to be able to deal with complex crises with all the necessary tools. In this way it will become an exporter of peace and security. Javier Solana, High Representative for the common foreign and security policy.

Collective EU efforts help the UN to keep the peace

By civilian means: The European Union Police Mission In the first operation of its kind, the EU replaced the UNs International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 January 2003, allowing the UN to redeploy its resources elsewhere. This European Union Police Mission (EUPM) aims to establish sustainable policing arrangements under the ownership of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with best European and international practices. It does this chiefly through monitoring, mentoring and inspection activities. It consists of 500 police personnel from more than 30 countries: the 15 EU Member States, nine of the 10 acceding countries and eight other countries. By military means: Bunia The EUPM was quickly followed by the EU-led military operation (called Artemis) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, conducted under the mandate of UN Security Council Resolution 1484 (2003). The ESDP provides the framework for the temporary stabilisation force in Bunia, where more than 1 500 peacekeepers have helped stabilise a volatile and dan-

Conflict prevention at the heart of EU external relations

Conflict prevention is not a new issue on the EUs external agenda. Even before the development of the CFSP, the EU was well placed to prevent conflict through a full range of instruments, including:

(9)

According to the June 2003 Eurobarometer poll, 67 % of EU citizens are in favour of a common foreign policy, and 74 % support a common defence and security policy.

 trade policy; development policy; cooperation and association agreements; social and environmental programmes; humanitarian assistance (the EC Humanitarian Office ECHO); cooperation mechanisms in the field of justice and home affairs. Besides, the development of the CFSP enhanced significantly: diplomatic tools (declarations, visits, dmarches, special envoys) and political dialogue; the strategy against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. An effective and proactive use of these tools, old and new, requires better coordination and coherence among different areas of policy, as well as between the CFSP, the actions of EU Member States and those of the European Community. Urgent horizontal measures (for example, measures against the illicit trade in small arms and conflict diamonds) and long-term, broader development policies are increasingly being implemented in a mutually reinforcing and coordinated fashion. And other peace-building measures, like effective protection of human rights and good governance, have a circular effect, helping to prevent the outbreak of conflict. Helping the UN in conflict prevention The European Union has been heavily involved for many years in helping the UN to prevent conflict in the world. On the ground, this has been aided by the appointment of EU special representatives, who play a growing role in shaping the EUs presence, contributing either to conflict prevention or peace-building activities across the globe. Such special envoys are currently involved in the western Balkans (three mandates covering Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Stability Pact), the Middle East Peace Process, the African Great Lakes region and Afghanistan. In Africa, millions of civilians have died from violent conflict in recent years. The Union will continue to support efforts in favour of the prevention and resolution of conflicts in Africa, in close cooperation with the UN, the African Union and other sub-regional

organisations. The EU has also supported efforts to deal with the illicit trade in minerals and other resources that directly finance conflict. In the Mediterranean, the EUs overall policy is defined by the 27-country Euro-Med Partnership, launched at the Barcelona conference in November 1995. It constitutes a good example of a comprehensive and innovative strategy to promote stability and prosperity in a complex region. The adoption of the Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Peace and Stability will provide the EU and its Mediterranean partners with a useful tool to join forces in maintaining peace and stability in the region. The EU is also the largest donor of non-military aid to the Middle East Peace Process (an average of EUR 810 million annually in recent years), as well as to the Palestinian Authority (an average of EUR 179 million a year for the last six years). The EU has established a stabilisation and association agreement (SAA) process to bring the countries of the region closer to European structures and, eventually, EU membership. The prospect of European integration remains a fundamental tool of conflict resolution and conflict prevention. Moreover, European countries and institutions provide the vast majority of resources pledged to the reconstruction of the region through bilateral programmes, the SAA process and through the Stability Pact for south-eastern Europe. The EU leads Pillar 4 (economic reconstruction, recovery and development) of the UN Mission in Kosovo. The EC budget has provided around EUR 1.24 billion in reconstruction programmes, humanitarian aid and financial assistance in Kosovo from 1998 to 2001. Altogether, the Union has provided some EUR 7 billion in assistance for the western Balkans region as a whole since 1991.

Normalisation, disarmament and non-proliferation

A solid basis for peace requires the creation of a safe environment in countries emerging from conflict. Their populations deserve to enjoy the peace dividend as soon as possible. The so-called DDR actions (disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration) are a vital catalyst to encourage combatants to return to normal civilian life. The EU and its Member States have financed important programmes of this type, like those in Mozambique in the framework of UNOMOZ, and projects focused on child-soldiers in Liberia. Another example: immediately after the elections held in Serbia in September 2000, the EC delivered fuel for the

(10) For a detailed description see The EU mine action programme, August 2003.

Serbian population in preparation for winter, attempting to normalise the situation as quickly as possible. Disarmament and arms-control play an important role, too, and the Union actively supports UN efforts in this field. The EU is involved in several UN disarmament topics related to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, such as small arms and light weapons (SALW), the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It also supports measures involving different international actors, ranging from the fields of nuclear safeguards to the collection and destruction of small arms. Similarly, the EU supports the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Landmines (APLs) and on their Destruction. Indeed, since the convention is an important step towards achieving a total ban on APLs worldwide, it is worth recalling that the EU is the largest donor in the field of humanitarian mine action, including stockpile destruction, mine clearance and mine awareness education. The European Community contributed EUR 42 million in 2002 alone to support APL-related projects throughout the world (10). Total EU spending (EC and EU Member States) was EUR 142.5 million in 2001. As to non-proliferation, the EU provides active support to several initiatives aimed at preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in particular proliferation to non-State actors, such as terrorists. The EC is a member of the Australia Group, which endeavours to allow exporting or transhipping countries to minimise the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapon (CBW) proliferation. The Commissions Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, works closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in these

matters. The European Commission also cooperates with the IAEA on a range of technical issues most notably nuclear safeguards and the EU generally speaks with one voice in the IAEAs Board of Governors on political issues such as the verification of nuclear programmes in North Korea, Iran and Iraq. The EU is also a major contributor to the G8 Global Partnership against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction launched in Kananaskis in 2002. Through a specific joint action under its CFSP, along with the financial contribution of the ECs Tacis programme, the EU is active in chemical weapons destruction, nuclear submarine dismantlement, fissile materials security and disposition, and the re-employment of former weapons experts. As such, it is an important actor on the Geneva security scene.

Peace and security: essential for development

The EU is by far the largest donor of world overseas development assistance and an active promoter of sustainable development. It is therefore in a strong position to ensure development policy works in the cause of peace and peace-building, addressing some of the root causes of conflicts: poverty, disease, lack of governance and the rule of law.
Conflict prevention, crisis management and peace-building are thus at the heart of the EU, which itself is a successful example of how stability and prosperity can be promoted through reconciliation and understanding. European integration has proved to be a model for regional cooperation, and hence, conflict resolution.

Kofi Annan and Romano Prodi (January 2004)