Sweden and Finland plead for a European Institute for Peace

(BRUSSELS2) A European Institute for Peace? This is the proposal that Sweden and Finland have just made. The foreign ministers of the two countries, Carl Bildt and Alexander Stubb, have indeed written to Cathy Ashton, the EU's chief diplomat, to propose the creation of a European institute of peace financed by the member states. . “With the External Action Service, the EU has the opportunity to promote peace and stability more effectively. But the efforts of traditional diplomacy are not enough,” explain the ministers.

Such an institute would have a useful role, argue the two ministers. He “could engage in conflict resolution activities around the world. It could train Europeans for situations where traditional diplomacy is not always optimal. It could also draw on the expertise of NGOs which is not always available to decision-makers”. "We need to acquire better instruments for conflict prevention, for mediation and for indirect diplomacy", considers Carl Bildt. "This institute could start a new kind of debate," says his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb. As for the financing, this could be provided by the Member States and the European institutions. And European non-member states could also engage in the Institute's activities.

The Ahtisaari Experience and the USIP Model

This proposal marks a very Nordic desire to give the European External Action Service a tone, which until now has remained very discreet at European level (apart from the electoral observation activity which plays on another register). Finland, in particular, more generally intends to make peace mediation one of its trademarks on the international scene.

The Europeans could benefit, they argue, from the experience of the former Finnish President, Marti Ahtisaari, who based on his various experiences of mediation (in Namibia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Indonesia, etc.) has developed his own institute , Crisis Management Initiative (HCM). The ministers are also relying on the model developed, across the Atlantic, of theUS Institute of Peace, which was created and funded by Congress but defines itself as "independent" and "non-partisan".

Researchers from SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) have carried out a study on behalf of the European Parliament which defines what this EU peace institute could be. Download document (“A Blue Print for an EU institute for Peace”).

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)