In accordance with Regulation (EC) N°1717/2006, the Commission presents its fifth annual report on the Instrument for Stability (IfS). The report gives an overview of how the IfS was mobilised in 2011.
Overview for period 2007-2011: after five years in existence, the IfS is now well established as an EU instrument responding to conflicts and crises around the world. Over the period 2007 - 2011, the short-term crisis response component of the IfS has made available EUR 670 million for some 203 actions responding to crises worldwide.
State of play for 2011: of the EUR 282 million budget available and fully committed for the IfS in 2011 (a near 15% increase on the previous year) the breakdown of allocations was:
· EUR 188 million for crisis or emerging crisis situations, amounting to a 43% increase on the previous year;
· EUR 30 million for responses to trans-regional threats;
· EUR 49 million for CBRN risk mitigation; and
· EUR 15 million11for pre- and post- crisis capacity building
In terms of geographic distribution, the paper shows that various crises in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 required a high level of IfS funding to support important stabilisation efforts. In addition there was a very significant increase in the percentage of overall IfS funding allocated in 2011 for the Middle East and North Africa region, due to the events of the unfolding ‘Arab Spring.’ The EU’s strong commitment to supporting the Southern Mediterranean region, in line with the Joint Communication of 8th March 2011 by the High Representative and the Commission on A Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean, is also demonstrated by the planned funding transfers from the global IfS budget to the European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument (ENPI) budget, amounting to EUR 60 million for 2012 and EUR 70 million for 2013.
Though there were fewer new IfS actions launched in a number of other regions in 2011, many actions already launched in these regions in 2010 remained ongoing throughout 2011. With regard to the longer-term IfS programmes, the year 2011 saw the end of the period covered by the 2007-2011 IfS Strategy Paper and its two accompanying Multi-annual Indicative Programmes covering respectively the periods 2007-2008 and 2009-2011.
Response to situations of crisis or emerging crisis (IfS Article 3): the report sets out details of some actions which are illustrative of activities in 2011 and demonstrate the wide scope and the many different types of crises the IfS was called to respond to in various locations around the world including: the ‘Arab Spring’, the turbulent situation in Yemen, substantial support given to the Palestinian people, the drought crisis in the Horn of Africa, the new country of South Sudan, programmes in Côte d’Ivoire supporting the new Ouattara Government and support to Security Sector Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The paper also discusses programmes in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, and electoral support in Haiti, Kazakhstan and Belarus, whilst in Afghanistan the IfS supported the Independent Electoral Commission to develop and consolidate capacity for future elections.
IfS crisis response measures are prepared in close cooperation with a variety of partners: civil society; public administrations; EU Member States; EU institutions; third countries; and others. EU Delegations play a key role, and this is discussed in detail.
Assistance in the context of stable conditions for cooperation (Article 4): the Commission describes the activities undertaken in the context of:
· threats to security and safety : in 2011, EUR 30 million were committed to actions in the above areas, with a total of around EUR 9.2 million in payments;
· risk mitigation linked to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) materials : from 2010 onwards, the CBRN ‘Centres of Excellence’ set up worldwide by the EU under the Instrument are gradually providing a single and integrated platform for actions in all of the domains of Border Monitoring/Illicit trafficking, export control, bio safety and bio security etc ;
· pre- and post- crisis capacity-building : the 2011 Annual Action Programme included eight thematically grouped actions, under what is known as the IfS Peace-building Partnership (PbP), which engages partners from civil society organisations, regional and international organisations and EU Member States in building capacities for pre- and post-crisis responses.
The paper concludes that IfS measures implemented in 2011, complementing other EU actions under regional and thematic development instruments, humanitarian assistance and CSDP missions, have contributed significantly to EU efforts to help prevent conflict, preserve peace, respond to crises and strengthen international security. In its fifth year of operation, and with a budget which has more than doubled from an amount of EUR 139 million in 2007 to EUR 282 million in 2011, the Instrument for Stability has demonstrated its robustness and capacity to contribute to timely and dynamic EU responses to a wide range of challenges around the world. Such challenges in 2011 included those associated with the impact of the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa region as well as the ever more complex situation throughout the Horn of Africa region.