Can the EU rebuild failing states?
Subtitle: a review of Europe's civilian capacities
By: Daniel Korski & Richard Gowan ; foreword by Jean-Marie Guéhenno
Contributors: Gowan, Richard; European Council on Foreign Relations
Publisher: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 99
ISBN-13: 9781906538170
Subjects: International Security; Government policy; National security; Pacific settlement of international disputes; Civilian-based defense; Foreign relations; Diplomatic relations; European Security and Defense Policy
Other titles: Can the European Union rebuild failing states?
Description: Broken promises from EU members on crisis missions risk more fragile states collapsing into failed states, argue ECFR's security experts Daniel Korski and Richard Gowan. Broken promises and treating Afghanistan, DR Congo and Iraq like Bosnia has left the EU without the capacity to prevent fragile states from becoming failing states. This is the main finding of the latest report from the European Council on Foreign Relations, by ECFR's security experts Daniel Korski and Richard Gowan, published today. According to the report, Can the EU rebuild failing states? A review of Europe's civilian capacities: EU member states break promises and significantly under-staff key international missions. No member state has deployed even half of what they promised in the 2004 Civilian Headline Goal process, and the EU has a shortage of 1,500 personnel across its 12 ongoing EU state building missions. All eyes are on Afghanistan: but the EU's police mission there is at half its authorised strength. Crisis missions still rely on the 'Bosnia-template', ignoring reality on the ground. The 2005-2006 mission to DR Congo, for instance, was rendered largely irrelevant because EU planning failed to take into account corruption and the country's size compared to Bosnia. Turf wars between the European Commission and the European Council weaken missions. In practice, spheres of influence overlap, leading to squabbles over who is responsible for what. In 2004 this led to a case at the European Court of Justice over who should get involved in a project tackling weapons trafficking in West Africa. Daniel Korski says: "If Yemen descends into full blown civil-war or al Qaeda gains new bases in Africa, the EU will be ill-equipped to offer the strategic and development assistance likely to be needed. Getting EU crisis missions right is essential in a world where stability in faraway places is key to security on the streets of Hamburg, Marseille and Manchester."--Publisher description.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / by Jean-Marie Guéhenno; title: Executive summary; title: Introduction; title: Chapter 1: The Bosnia template; title: An EU way of peace; title: A guide to ESDP missions; title: The challenge of crisis management; title: Why civilian capabilities matter; title: Chapter 2: Worthy intentions, broken promises: the member state problem; title: Why is it so difficult to recruit?; title: The member state audit; title: Chapter 3: Bureaucracy and in-fighting: the Brussels problem; title: The Commission vs the Council; title: Inside the Council; title: The problem of civilian-military integration; title: Chapter 4: Policy recommendations: a new way of doing missions; title: The scalable assistance partnership; title: Revitalising the Brussels institutions; title: Finding the right staff; title: Strengthening training; title: Supplying new missions; title: Gearing EU states to the task; title: Increasing democratic legitimacy; title: Conclusion; title: Annex 1: The mechanics of ESDP; title: Annex 2: Audit of EU member states' civilian capabilities.