The Commission has presented its 2013 Annual Report on the Instrument for Stability.
This is the seventh Annual Report on the Instrument for Stability (IfS), the final such report under the existing legal basis. The Instrument for Stability has been an important tool placed under the authority of the High Representative/Vice President and Commissioner responsible for Development, enabling them to target resources in support of comprehensive EU approaches aimed at preventing, mitigating and dealing with the aftermath of crises and longer-term security threats around the world. The Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) works in very close collaboration with the European External Action Service (EEAS). It gives an overview of how the IfS was mobilised to this effect in 2013.
This report is complemented by three Commission Staff Working Documents which provide comprehensive and detailed global implementation updates on the urgent IfS crisis response measures that were launched and/or ongoing in 2013 and longer-term programmable IfS actions.
Overview and state of play of the IfS for 2007-2013: over the period 2007-2013, the short-term crisis response component of the IfS has made available EUR 1.08 billion for some 288 actions responding to crises spanning over 70 countries or regions worldwide. Over the same period, some EUR 502.45 million was made available for the long-term, programmable element of the IfS.
Of the EUR 309.3 million budget available and fully committed for the IfS in 2013, the breakdown of allocations was:
In terms of geographic distribution, the report noted the significant on-going IfS support across the Middle East and North and Sub-Saharan Africa, given the protracted crises in the regions.
Crisis response measures: in 2013, the IfS committed EUR 216.6 millionthrough some 45 short-term crisis response measures. In the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) support continued in response to the protracted crises in Syria and the spillover affects felt by neighbouring countries. Support across sub-Saharan Africa was also evident, reflective of EU responses to volatile political situations and security threats across the region. And in South-East Asia, support continued towards the establishment of peace processes and the rule of law.
In conclusion, the report stated that IfS measures implemented in 2013 contributed significantly to EU efforts to help prevent conflict, respond to crises and preserve peace. In this respect, the wide range of interventions implemented under the Instrument for Stability enabled significant and visible EU responses with respect to many global crisis situations.
Given the continuing political instability and increasing number of natural disasters in many parts of the world, it is imperative to continue working towards the more efficient and effective deployment of the available EU instruments. In this context, the EU needs to ensure IfS actions are deployed as part of the full cycle of crisis prevention, crisis response and peace building measures. The IfS provided the EU with a unique response ability, in many cases acting as an entry point and a catalyst to enable a broad range of EU responses that combine to form the EU’s strategic and comprehensive approach to conflict prevention and crisis response.
In 2014, the IfS will make way for the new Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP). The consultations on the new IcSP have reaffirmed the need for the EU to maintain and expand its capacity to provide a swift and targeted response to crisis situations elsewhere in the world as well as to global and trans-regional threats and emerging threats (fight against organised crime; protection of critical infrastructure; countering terrorism; CBRN risk mitigation). The new IcSP will also re-emphasise the focus on conflict prevention, peacebuilding and crisis preparedness, recognising that an early response by the EU can often be an effective means to avoid that tensions escalate into a crisis.