European Union procedures and resources for crisis management

The European Union can draw on a broad range of instruments and capabilities for conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction, but its institutional structure and limited approach to developing crisis management capabilities within the intergovernmental decision-making context of the European Security and Defence Policy mean that its response to crises is neither integrated nor coherent. EU military operations and the deployment of police and rule-of-law experts are institutionally and practically divorced from activities supported by the Commission in pre-, active and post-crises situations. This division presents serious obstacles to EU ambitions to become a capable, active and coherent actor in crisis management.