Foreign ministers of EU member states meeting in Council on Monday 22 January reiterated their support for an integrated approach to external conflicts and crises. That EU approach is “more coherent and comprehensive” and fosters human security “thus strengthening the security of the EU and of its citizens”.
In conclusions adopted, the Council commends work underway to “give operational content on the ground to links between humanitarian action and development, and to the links between security and development”.
The Council calls on the High Representative and the Commission for joint analyses of conflicts to be systematically carried out in relation to countries in a situation of conflict or instability or faced with such risks, and in which the presence of the EU is of great importance.
Underlining the EU’s “unique potential” when it comes to mediation, the Council underlines the need to strengthen the mediation means available to the European External Action Service (EEAS) in order to contribute to the prevention and resolution of conflicts and to continue work on the ability to rapidly deploy expertise in this field, in EU delegations and to support other organisations.
The Council also invites the EEAS to make a “more thorough examination” of the strengthened synergies between its new crisis response mechanism and the emergency response systems within the different EU institutions. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)