EU policies to address fragility in Sub-Saharan Africa

Concern over fragility in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere is not new to the European Union, but, in the last few years, policy awareness and efforts to improve the EU policy framework, to adapt its tools, and to promote better coherence and co-ordination have multiplied. While expectations should always be modest, given the primacy of local actors in addressing fragility, the EU’s wide range of policies and tools, which go beyond development, make it a highly-relevant actor to respond to fragility. There has been some progress to adapt EU policies and tools to the specific and heterogeneous contexts of fragile states.

The EU is also committed to international agendas on aid effectiveness and good international engagement in fragile states and situations. The implementation record is, however, weak. EU policies and commitments have not yet been genuinely “field-tested”. Consequently, the solution may not be found in the development of more policy unless more fundamental issues are addressed. Questions remain as to whether the EU can overcome the considerable political, financial and institutional challenges to bridge the gap between the policy prescriptions and practice.

Paper prepared for the Conference on “Moving Towards the European Report on Development 2009”, organised by the European Report of Development in Florence, Italy, 21-23 June, 2009

European Report on Development 2009

Supported by the European Commission and seven Member States (Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), the European Report on Development (ERD) is the main output of the "Mobilising European Research for Development Policies" initiative. This flagship report is published since 2009, with the aim of stimulating debate and research on topics of major relevance for development, as well as to enhance the European perspective in the international development arena.