The rhetoric-resources gap in EU crisis management

Abstract:

The development of EU crisis management capabilities has proceeded rapidly and one of the questions in the wake of these developments is how to finance these new aspects of the EU's activities. Currently the EU faces a rhetoric-resources gap whereby the political pronouncements and aspirations exceed the resources available for crisis management operations, most notably those involving the use of military force. This brief overview of the resource and financial issues facing EU crisis management attempts, in the first place, to examine the arrangements that exist. Since the arrangements for the civilian and military aspects of crisis management pose slightly different sets of issues, they are dealt with separately. The final section will then examine possible approaches to providing adequate resources for crisis management and the conclusions will highlight some problem areas and possible ways forward. It is argued that a failure to address the rhetoric-resources gap will undermine EU crisis management efforts, as well as the effectiveness of the Union as an actor on the international stage.