Policies & Initiatives

Communication on Conflict Prevention

The list of the means at the European Union's disposal for the prevention of conflict is long: development co-operation and external assistance, trade policy instruments, humanitarian aid, social and environmental policies, diplomatic instruments and political dialogue, co-operation with international partners and NGOs, as well as the new instruments in the field of crisis management (see the European Council in Laeken, December 14-15, 2001). 

In this context, the Commission adopted in April 2001 a Communication on conflict prevention reviewing main instruments in this field and putting forward recommendations for specific actions (report). 

The Communication sets out 4 main objectives: 

1) to make more systematic and co-ordinated use of EU instrumentsto get at the root causes of conflict. 

2) to improve the efficiency of actions targeting specific causes of conflict (the so-called "cross-cutting issues" such as trafficking in drugs or human beings, illicit trade of diamonds and small arms, competition over scarce water resources etc). 

3) to improve EU capacity to react quickly to nascent conflicts. 

4) to promote international co-operation with all EU's partners (partner countries, NGOs, international organisations such as UN, G8, OSCE, ICRC as well as other regional organisations). 

For more information about the EU policies on conflict prevention, see http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/cfsp/conflict_prevention/index_en.htm