The Europeanisation and Securitisation of EU Aid: The Comprehensive Approach to Crisis Response and Peacebuilding, in Policy and Practice

The European Commission and the EEAS have in recent years made significant efforts to institute 'joined up' or ‘comprehensive’ approaches to external action challenges. At the policy level this has created tensions between EU-level actors and member states, as well as between the different Commissioners and the European Parliament. The major sticking points have been questions about the appropriate use of aid, who would be responsible for what instrument at what time, and how to balance the EU’s efforts with member state interests in security and development. At the operational level, there have been tensions around the rationale and effectiveness of EU interventions in fragile states using its comprehensive approach. This paper discusses these issues with reference to recent crisis situations where the EU has intervened alongside member states and using its comprehensive approach: the Central African Republic, Mali and South Sudan.