POLICY WORK
EPLO’s policy work is led by the following working groups:
EPLO’s policy work is built on a simple conviction: that civil society expertise is indispensable for global peace and security.
Through our Working Groups, member organisations pool their knowledge and field-based experience to contribute to EU policy processes, providing a unique, unified entry point for peacebuilding and conflict prevention into European policy developments.
Over 2026–2030, this work is guided by three core objectives:
- Expand a robust, connected European network to widen the commitment to peace
- Promote political support for a peace-centred understanding of security
- Support improved European peace-responsive action
EU POLICIES
The Policy Working Group works to ensure that conflict prevention and peacebuilding feature prominently in EU external action discussions, contributing civil society expertise to policy processes and institutional developments.
The group focuses on:
- The Common Foreign and Security Policy, including CSDP missions
- The institutional development of the European External Action Service (EEAS)
- EU peace mediation practices
- Policies and tools related to the Integrated Approach to External Conflicts and Crises
📩 Contact: Lorenzo Conti or Dearbhaile O’Callaghan
FUNDING FOR PEACE
The Funding for Peace Working Group contributes civil society expertise to discussions on EU funding for peacebuilding, with a particular focus on civil society-led activities, including within development aid.
The group’s work centres on:
- Analysing EU resource allocation in support of civilian peacebuilding and conflict prevention
- Monitoring how peacebuilding and conflict prevention are reflected across EU external financing instruments
- Engaging technically with key instruments such as NDICI–Global Europe, IPA III, the annual EU Budget, and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)
Latest work: EPLO has been actively contributing to discussions on the next MFF, resulting in a statement supported by all 51 member organisations and a co-signed open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the importance of maintaining distinct external financing instruments for effective external action.
📩 Contact: Aurélie Buytaert
GENDER, PEACE AND SECURITY
The GPS Working Group promotes the integration of gender perspectives into EU peacebuilding and conflict prevention, contributing expertise on the gendered and intersectional dimensions of conflict and supporting women’s leadership at every stage of policymaking.
The group focuses on:
- Providing a platform for gender expertise to inform EU institutional discussions
- Facilitating the contributions of women from conflict-affected countries to EU peace and security policy processes
- Supporting EU capacity for gender-responsive conflict analysis
- Contributing to the implementation of the EU Women, Peace and Security agenda and Gender Action Plan III
📩 Contact: Marie Lena Groenewald
CLIMATE CRISIS AND PEACEBUILDING
The CC&PB Working Group serves as a platform for exchange and technical analysis on the EU’s role at the intersection of climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and security.
The group focuses on:
- Analysing how EU climate action can better incorporate conflict-sensitivity and peacebuilding principles
- Contributing expertise on climate finance needs in conflict-affected regions
- Supporting integrated, conflict-sensitive approaches that align peacebuilding, climate action and green transition strategies
- Contributing to EU discussions on water-peace-climate linkages, particularly in relation to mediation and governance
📩 Contact: Marie Lena Groenewald