EU earmarks almost 900 million euros for new peace support programme

On Wednesday, the European Union announced the launch of a new programme to support peace, stability and conflict prevention in the world, with a budget of almost 900 million euros.

This is the Global Europe thematic programme on Peace, Stability and Conflict Prevention, which will support actions with a global or trans-regional impact during the period 2021-2027, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement.

With this initiative, the EU aims to contribute to the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"The EU needs to be able to address global instability and conflict. With this programme, we increase our capacity to act and support our partners in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and crisis preparedness globally, and to address emerging threats," said EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell.

The programme "will ensure that we match our ambitions with tangible support", added the head of European diplomacy.

As major innovations, it will promote EU assistance to foster a culture of peace and non-violence, better integrate environmental degradation or climate impact into conflicts, and improve the focus on children, youth and women as peace actors.

It aims to pay particular attention to contributing to ongoing conflict resolution and conflict prevention, and to continue to support mediation processes.

In this context, through the early warning approach, the EU will be able to respond to conflict risks before they materialise and take early action, according to the EEAS.

At the same time, the programme will address global threats and challenges, such as terrorism, which continues to pose one of the most serious threats to world peace and security, the EEAS stressed.

s such, it added, there is a growing need to address the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism, as well as the financing of terrorism.

In this regard, the objective of the programme is to strengthen the EU's role as a global and policy leader, reinforcing counter-terrorism actions and preventing violent extremism, in full respect of human rights.

In 2021, actions funded under this programme will focus on innovative approaches to address disinformation in peace-building processes and community and climate change-sensitive technological solutions, as well as addressing the root causes of terrorism, violent extremism and terrorist financing, the EEAS said.

In parallel, it will continue to ensure crucial support to civil society organisations and multilateralism, as well as improving early warning and conflict analysis tools, concluded Borrell's agency.