1. EPLO Civil Society Dialogue Network Policy Meeting
A BRIEF REFLECTION ON:
POSSIBILITIES FOR ENHANCING EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING
EPLO Civil Society Dialogue Network Policy Meeting
1 February 2016

2. Missing: consideration of political interests and possibilities?
SETTING THE SCENE: FROM HIPPO TO UN/SG AND BEYOND
HIPPO
primacy of politics
full spectrum of UN peace operations
stronger global-regional partnerships
field-focused and people-centered
UNSG
a renewed focus on prevention and mediation
stronger regional-global partnerships
new ways of planning and conducting peace operations
RESIDUAL
financing AU operations
civilian protection
1325
Single operations account and extra DSG
Missing: consideration of political interests and possibilities?

3. These aren’t necessarily true, but merit debate
‘PROVOCATIVE’ HYPOTHESES ON EU SUPPORT FOR UN PEACEKEEPING
It is not about partnership, but interest-based support
The UN has greater scope, legitimacy & experience
The EU is the largest source of potential regional support
Progress has been made, but structural issues remain
Upside: EU action plan and UN guidelines
Downside: Collaboration too ad-hoc, bilateral EU Member State – UN collaboration prevails, mistrust of UN C&C capabilities
Key blockages are political, not bureaucratic
Do Member States want the EU as key route to better UN peacekeeping? Generally or when interests converge?
Does the UN want a privileged EU relation if it can deliver?
These aren’t necessarily true, but merit debate

4. A WAY OF THINKING ABOUT POLITICAL INTERESTS FOR BETTER SUPPORT
Compatibility of UN-EU purpose
1 mission, aligned support
2 missions, aligned mandates
1 mission, support not aligned
2 missions, mandates not aligned
high
Level of interest key EU member states
low
high
low

5. FOUR BOLD IDEAS FOR GREATER SUPPORT FOCUSED ON THE GREEN QUADRANTS
Make better use of EU Special Representatives to support the UN to cover regional dimensions of crisis
BOLD IDEA 2:
Synchronize EU SSR and RoL programming with UN mission requirements
BOLD IDEA 3:
Develop a standardized mechanism for supporting the AU with EU as key financier
BOLD IDEA 4:
Make a case to EU Member States that clarifies improvements, weaknesses and issues of UN Command and Control

6. Erwin van Veen
Conflict Research Unit
Senior research fellow