5 - Managing future crises

Summary

The watchwords ought to be: maximizing synergies and avoiding “hard” or artificial splits between how we handle EU internal and external crises.

(Baroness Ashton 2010)

The lesson of the past is that this is an area in which breakthroughs are often less than they seem, and in which the slow evolution of policy is more important than treaty provisions, declarations or individual agency.

(Smith 2003: 563)

From “mapping” to assessing EU crisis management capacities

This book documents the emergence of the European Union as a multifaceted crisis manager. It describes the many crisis management capacities now available at the supranational level in Europe, including unique forms of cooperation, surprisingly effective decision procedures, organizations with special competences, and even a degree of operational capabilities.

It is true that these capacities are scattered across the EU's institutional landscape. We had to search for some, as they were not designed with crisis management in mind. Some capacities are brand new; others are tried and tested. It is also true that some capacities have worked better than others.

Taken together, we can say that the EU has developed a wide range of tools that enable the Union to play a role in a joint response to a variety of crises. The combined resources of 27 member states and the distinct competence the EU has developed over the years have made the EU a unique actor in the international crisis arena.