Brussels, 04/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - In their report for the European Council of Nice, presented to the General Affairs Council on Monday, on the coherence and effectiveness of European action in the field of conflict prevention, the Secretary General of the EU Council/High Representative for Cfsp, Javier Solana and Commissioner for External Relation, Chris Patten propose a series of concrete measures for the short and long-term. The EU has to "shift from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention", says the report, which is the fruit of very positive cooperation between the Council and Commission, and which notes that the EU has invested some Euro 18 billion in reconstruction in the Balkans. The future work of the EU should acknowledge "our failures" but also "build on our successes", says the report, citing the EU's contribution to stability in Central and Eastern Europe, the stabilising effect of the rapid delivery of political and financial support for Montenegro, the impact of aid to the democratic forces in Serbia, and, in another region of the world, international Community action putting an end to the "spiral of conflict" in East Timor. According to the report, the challenges which face the Union as it sets about improving its coherence and effectiveness of conflict prevention are similar to those which it faces throughout its external activity: to establish and sustain priorities, to ensure the coherent use of what is now a broad range of resources in pursuit of those priorities, to deploy those resources in a pro-active, flexible and integrated way, to build and sustain effective "partnerships with those that share our values and priorities".
The report observes that the EU "is well placed to engage in conflict prevention", as it has instruments ranging from trade policies to cooperation agreements, from development assistance to policies regarding social and environmental matters, from humanitarian aid (both through ECHO and Member States) to civilian and military crisis management capabilities, from diplomatic instruments to cooperation in the area of Justice and Home Affairs. The work begun since Evian to improve coordination of EU external assistance "will also serve to improve our ability to address situations of emerging conflict", the report stresses, considering that: (1) the General Affairs Council should address conflict prevention, possibly during its annual orientation debate on external relations (see EUROPE of 1 December, pages 6 and 7, for declarations be Mr. Vedrine on the subject before the EP), and examine the broader issue of coherence at Council level in general, including with the Development Council; (2) the General Affairs Council should regularly identify priority areas for EU action in this field, taking account of the recommendations of the Secretary General and the Commission and then inviting the latter to oversee the implementation of priorities and report accordingly; (3) the EU should "set the explicit aim of developing targeted, common approaches to countries and regions at risk of conflict", taking account of Cfsp, development, trade, economic and justice and home affairs issues.
The report also places emphasis on the "building more effective partnerships", with the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and other regional organisations, and proposes in particular: - (1) backing UN efforts aimed at improving conflict prevention and peacekeeping; - (2) identifying common priorities with the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the International Committee of the Red Cross; - (3) intensifying dialogue with NGOs.
The report makes longer-term recommendations, considering in particular that: (1) the Commission is to present a Communication in January 2001 on linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development, which will, inter alia, include proposals "to enable a quicker and more coherent transition from one phase of assistance to another", and, in Spring 2001, a communication focussing specifically on the use and possible adaptation of Community instruments in conflict prevention (in addition, it will continue to work on the "Conflict Prevention Handbook"); (2) the EU should give priority to preparing the UN Conference on small arms, ratification of the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court and implementation of the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines.
For the short-term, the report makes the following recommendations: - evaluate the diplomatic instruments for conflict prevention, including use of special representatives, with the objective of more "focussed, flexible and robust diplomatic engagement"; - the Political and Security Committee should continue to develop "its potential as a focal point for the development, implementation and monitoring of conflict prevention policies"; - more proactive use of heads of mission for conflict prevention, including though visits of potential conflict zones; - better coordination of the wide range of information sources now available, and Member States commitment to sharing all relevant information; - regular preparation by the EU Policy Unit and by the Commission of conflict prevention papers for consideration by ministers.