The European Union and Civilian Crisis Management after Lisbon

Abstract:

This article aims at analysing the strengths and shortfalls of the European Union (EU) Civilian Crisis Management (CCM) system after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty introduced a number of important innovations at the strategic, institutional and operational level that have the potential to produce a significant impact on the way in which the EU addresses today's complex crises and defines its role in the international security environment. The article starts out with a review of the origin and evolution of the EU as a civilian crisis manager actor, with a view to point out the main steps, concrete achievements and remaining gaps on the eve of the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. The second part focuses on the assessment of the Lisbon Treaty's innovations in the CCM system in terms of institutions, mechanisms and capabilities. The following section is dedicated to the evaluation of the experience on the ground, conducted through the identification of the main trends of CCM after Lisbon. The analysis relies on the study of the civilian missions launched by the EU since 2012: EUCAP Sahel Niger, EUCAP Nestor, EUAVSEC South Sudan and, more recently, EUBAM Libya, EUCAP Sahel Mali and EUAM Ukraine. The last part offers some policy recommendations for the EU in order to improve its performance in the field of CCM through improved strategies, institutional set-up, operational planning and capability development.