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Speech by EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner - Role of Crisis Response in External Relations

Speech by Dr Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood policy, "From Needs to Solutions: Enhancing Civilian Crisis Response Capacity of the European Union" - Conference organised by the European Commission in Cooperation with the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), Brussels

The Role of Crisis Response in External Relations

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the European Commission, let me welcome you to this conference. I am delighted that, together with the Crisis Management Initiative, we have assembled such an impressive gathering of major actors in the field of crisis management. This is an unprecedented opportunity to leverage the enormous amount of expertise represented by the participants in this room towards our overall goal - improving the European Union's civilian crisis response capacities.

I would also like to welcome President Ahtisaari to the Commission, and to say how delighted I am that he could be here today. Mr President, we all know the key role you have played in resolving many international crises over the last 20 years. And we wish you well as you undertake your latest mission - Kosovo. Your career in many ways illustrates the underlining assumption of this conference, that crisis management only works if all actors, organisations, governments and non-governmental organisations are committed to work together towards a common, achievable goal.

In today's world the danger of war between great powers has diminished. Instead, failing states, ethnic or religious ideologies, extreme poverty, organised crime and uncontrolled migration pose the major challenges to the international community. They threaten not only international security but also our humanitarian and development goals and our fundamental values of democracy and human rights.

Conflicts in far away regions can develop into a security threat for the entire international community. And conflicts increasingly involve civilians, both as active participants in the hostilities and as direct targets.

And, as we have seen this year with the tsunami, hurricane Katrina, and the Kashmir earthquake, there is a growing need to respond to large scale natural disasters.

Public expectations on the European Union to respond effectively, are huge, rightly so. After all, it is often a question of life and death.

The EU has made important strides in increasing the effectiveness of its response to crises, both man-made and natural, but we must go further. Complex issues require a complex set of responses. All our combined efforts are necessary to make needed progress.

I hope that in the work of this conference over the next two days, we can avoid abstract debates and instead focus on practical responses to the mentioned question of how we can improve the EU's civilian crisis response capacity.

Let me say a few words about where we stand today. The EU is already able to mobilise a formidable crisis response capacity:

• We are one of the biggest donors of humanitarian assistance. Through our humanitarian office (ECHO) we are able to mobilise the resources and expertise of the UN system, the Red Cross and international NGOs.
  
  
• The EU's civil protection mechanism gives us a new capacity to deal with natural and environmental disasters. This draws upon member states specialised services, and proved its worth, for instance, in our response to the tsunami.
  
  
• Our rapid reaction mechanism and long term development instruments have a good record in responding to major political crises. This has allowed the EU to support both short term crisis interventions and strategic stabilisation efforts, such as in the Balkans.

An additional intervention capacity is being developed to support the Union's foreign policy, in the context of the European Security and Defence Policy. This enables the EU to send civilian experts in policing, rule of law and civil administration to crisis situations.

Combined with the EU's military capacity this gives us a comprehensive range of tools. The challenge for us is to use these tools coherently, giving a coherent overall response to crises, and a response that is <>well-co-ordinated with the many different actors in the international community.

So how can we improve the coherence and co-ordination of the EU's civilian crisis response capacity?

1) Policy level

First, at the policy level, there is an emerging consensus that development and security are interlinked. Without security there can be no development, and without development no security.

Similarly, short-term interventions turn quickly into mid- or long-term engagements. Very few international crises allow for a 'quick fix'. Just as we have to face the challenges of immediate crisis response, we must accept our responsibility for long-term follow-up commitments.

Recognising the link between security and development, we have established innovative ways to support reconciliation and mediation initiatives. We are also following international best practice in integrating disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration, and security sector reform into our development policies. The Africa Peace Facility is another illustration of how we are linking development and security in our programmes.

We are also addressing the appropriate use of military assets in humanitarian response. As the tsunami and the Kashmir earthquake showed, military means can prove crucial in getting assistance rapidly to the places where it is needed. It is an example of the interlinking of different tools to achieve a common goal. There is also the need to preserve the humanitarian principles of neutrality and independence. Reconciling these two is a sensitive issue.

Finally, our proposal for a Stability Instrument reflects our desire to streamline our crisis response. The Stability Instrument will allow us to anticipate and prevent a crisis turning into violent conflict; support mediation and reconciliation efforts; and utilise the full range of post-crisis reconstruction and peace building measures. It is also designed to ensure continuity between short and long term interventions. In particular I want to use the Stability Instrument to strengthen the collaboration between the Council, the Commission and Member States.

So I hope all those involved in the negotiations on the Stability Instrument will support an effective and efficient outcome.

2) Working together

Secondly, coherence and coordination.

The EU's approach to foreign policy is rooted in its belief in effective multilateralism. We are firmly committed to working hand in hand with other donors and with UN agencies and institutions right from the very beginning of a crisis. Because, as we all know, that is the only way to optimise the effectiveness of international assistance.

Just as importantly, the EU has to work hard to ensure that our foreign policy, trade, development and humanitarian instruments work closely together. This starts of course with efficient coordination within the Commission and encircles our cooperation with the Council and the Member States.

The Council, the Commission and Member States all have work to do to ensure a joined-up approach to civilian crisis response. We have a good basis on which to build. Take the example of the work we are doing to support peace and reconstruction in Aceh.

Here we adopted a comprehensive approach. The Commission financed President Ahtisaari's peace negotiations using the Rapid Reaction Mechanism. The EU launched the Aceh Monitoring Mission to monitor compliance with the Peace Agreement. And at the same time the Commission and Member States, working with the international community, put in place a package of long term measures to support the peace process. This addresses the structural issues: reintegration of Free Aceh Movement combatants and prisoners; reforms of the local administration and promoting the rule of law and democracy. We also set up a "Europa House" as a forum for information, coordination of assistance efforts and dialogue with all stakeholders.

This proves that a joined-up approach is possible. I hope this will be a precedent for future EU assistance for post-conflict or post-natural disaster situations.

To come back to an element that I have mentioned earlier, public expectations: I am convinced that our success to satisfy them will be the more successful the more we are in a position to give a well-coordinated and coherent overall response to crisis situations.

3) Information and communication technologies

Finally, and this brings me to one of the key topics of this conference, we must address the practical needs for effective communication on the ground.

Perhaps one of the greatest contributions to improving the current situation is better information flows - ensuring that the right information gets to the right people at the right time. This is crucial for planning our operations.

We need to have a better information picture about the situation, we need security for our people on the ground, and we need to coordinate better with the whole crisis response community.

Technology has opened up domains of information which only some years ago were unthinkable. We need to harness the potential of open source intelligence for early warning and situation analysis.

When our aid workers now seek the right road to get to the Pakistan disaster areas they should be able to access open sources in a simple and effective way. And they should be able to obtain other crucial data such as real-time satellite imagery.

We also need to make sure that soldiers, civilians, UN officials, and NGOs on the ground can communicate with each other easily and securely.

In the coming two days you will discuss practical ways of improving communications, the safety of personnel in the field and open source intelligence to enhance early warning, crisis response and reconstruction.

Javier Solana rightly said that "Action is better than concepts". That's why this conference is oriented towards practicalities, not abstractions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me say again how pleased I am that you are here today and I very much welcome your contribution to the important task of improving the EU's civilian crisis response. I look forward to the practical suggestions which will emerge over the course of the next two days. And I hope we can work together to ensure the EU is better able to take up its global responsibility in responding to crises in the future.

Thank you.

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