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EU support for Security Sector Reform is challenging task
June 24, 2009. Within the European Union development has traditionally been seen as the task of the European Community (EC – the First Pillar), while security has been dealt with by the Common Foreign and Security Policy/European Security and Defence Policy (CFSP/ESDP – the Second Pillar). Although both these Pillars addressed individual areas of the security sector, supporting the Security Sector Reform (SSR) is a new area of engagement. Given the holistic nature of SSR and the institutional set-up of the EU, the task for the EU of defining its support to SSR is a complex undertaking.
The EU is in the process of finding practical ways of planning and implementing effective support to SSR in partner countries in the framework of a three-Pillar structure with different modus operandi, funding mechanisms and programming cycles.
On the basis of interviews of Brussels-based EU or EU-affiliated officials, independent observers and a review of relevant literature, this report offers an overview of the EU’s set-up as regards the provision of support to SSR processes in partner countries including policy, funding mechanisms, actors and decision-making processes. It subsequently identifies tensions and weaknesses that exist at both the design/planning stage and at the implementation stage as a result of the current set-up, and highlights, where possible, potential solutions or avenues for invoking change and improvements.
This report is the first phase of a longer research project which will involve country case studies in the second phase in order to examine the impact of EU SSR support on the ground and to confront the Brussels or capital-based perspective with views from the field.
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