Keep Peace on the Agenda! – Peacebuilding at a crossroads ahead of the European elections
On 6-9 June, around 400 million EU citizens have the right to vote for their representatives in the European Parliament. However, despite the EU’s history as a peace project, peace is losing priority in discussions on political priorities and resource allocation. Peacebuilding and conflict prevention are at risk of becoming increasingly sidelined. Therefore, the EU […]
Peacebuilding in the new European Parliament: a bad moon rising
By Jack Kennedy The European Parliament elections of 6-9 June shifted the chamber solidly to the right. As many commentators have noted, the gains of the far-right were less extensive than had been expected; however, they did make gains, as did the centre-right/right European People’s Party (EPP) grouping. This came largely at the expense of the […]
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EPLO Letter – Building Peace with the European Union’s Green Transition
EPLO believes that the EU’s efforts to promote the green transition, expand its climate diplomacy, and implement the EU Joint Communication on the Climate-Security Nexus, present key opportunities to advance the EU’s priorities on conflict prevention and peacebuilding. We are convinced that the EU is uniquely positioned to play a leading role on the world […]
Letter to Future MEPs – The European Union as a Global Peace Actor
As a peace project itself, the EU has a unique comparative advantage in promoting nonviolent forms of conflict resolution and contributing to long-term, sustainable peace across the world through its peacebuilding and development instruments. Alongside initiatives like the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), the EU plays […]
Standing up against gender-based violence? Mismatches between EU internal and foreign policy
By Marie Lena Groenewald In early February, EU institutions reached a political agreement on new rules to combat violence against women and domestic violence. While the directive is yet to be finally adopted, the agreement follows an almost two year process, starting with a Commission proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence set forth in […]
Trends towards the defunding of European Peacebuilding: German ODA cuts as a case in point
By Philipp Kittman Following a protracted process, Germany finalised its federal budget for 2024 in late January, navigating through economic challenges marked by slowing growth. The resultant austerity course led to significant budget reductions, notably impacting official development assistance (ODA) and funding for peacebuilding. In relative terms, peacebuilding and other international cooperation initiatives rank as the […]
Peace in the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus: Key Recommendations
By Lorenzo Angelini Since the European Union (EU) published its Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy in 2016, it has made steady efforts to strengthen the connections between its humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actions. However, despite the progress achieved, there remain across EU services and delegations different understandings of the peace component of the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus […]
What Mariama Diomande can teach us about social cohesion
By Jack Kennedy In the new EPLO documentary, “MARIAMA”, we meet Mariama Diomande, a young Ivorian woman who has dedicated herself to building peace in her community in Abidjan, in the wake of the violence that engulfed Côte d’Ivoire following the 2010 election. Mariama’s story is inspiring; it is a demonstration of what a small […]
Water, Peace and Conflict: Recommendations from Civil Society
By Marie Lena Groenewald and Lorenzo Angelini In recent years, the European Union (EU) has made clear that it is committed to addressing the linkages between the climate crisis, water resources, and peace and conflict dynamics. The EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (2016), the Climate Change and Defence Roadmap (2020), the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change (2021) and […]