Instrument for Stability

The Instrument for Stability (IfS, more commonly referred to as the Stability Instrument) is a financial instrument at the disposal of the European Commission (through the Directorate-General for External Relations) to respond urgently to the needs of countries threatened with or undergoing severe political instability or suffering from the effects of a technological or natural disaster. European Parliament and European Council, "Regulation Establishing an Instrument for Stability", EC Regulation No 1717/2006, November 15 2006.] It aims to improve the link between first pillar and second pillar operations, as well as to streamline short-term crisis response with longer-term programmes of the European Community.

The Instrument for Stability was proposed by the Commission in September 2004 and created by the Council and Parliament on 15 November 2006 through Regulation No 1717/2006. It replaces the Rapid Reaction Mechanism (RRM), which was considered unwieldy as it could only finance projects of up to six months. DG RELEX "Rapid Reaction Mechanism (RRM)", December 2005, http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/cfsp/cpcm/rrm/index.htm.]

Purpose

The purpose of the Instrument for Stability is to support measures aimed at safeguarding or re-establishing the conditions under which the partner countries of the European Union can pursue their long term development goals. The main added value of the IfS is its ability to provide support to the political strategy of the Commission in the event of a crisis in a third country.

Besides tackling crises and instability in third countries, the IfS may also be deployed to address trans-border challenges including nuclear safety and non-proliferation, the fight against trafficking, organised crime and terrorism.

The IfS can only finance operations where other financial instruments cannot respond within the timeframe necessary. In specific, the IfS cannot finance humanitarian assistance (which is the responsibility of ECHO) or finance projects that are longer than 18 months (which the Commission should be able to finance through the regular financial instruments). In addition, specialised short-term financing instruments already exist for specific crises. These include regulations on food aid, human rights and democratisation, mine action and rehabilitation.

Deployment

The IfS may be deployed either for crisis response and crisis preparedness (such a limited window of opportunity to prevent or resolve conflict, situations threatening to escalate into armed conflict or severe destabilisation, or the urgent need to secure the conditions for the delivery of aid by the European Union), or for long-term trans-regional threats to stability (such as threats to law and order, to the security and safety of individuals, to critical infrastructure and to public health). The urgency, political priority, window of opportunity, effectiveness and need for follow-up will all be assessed prior to deployment.

For the deployment of the IfS, a simplified decision-making process is used. The Commission may adopt measures which apply immediately. The Commission is assisted by a committee (composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission, who does not vote in the committee), which is kept informed of all IfS measures taken by the Commission. If the Commission's actions are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, the Council will immediately be informed, which may then overrule the Commission within 30 days, voting by qualified majority. The European Parliament, meanwhile, is informed by the Commission of committee proceedings on a regular basis.

Budget

The total budget for the period 2007-2013 is €2 billion, of which a maximum of 27% (ca. €550 million) will be spent on longer-term EC responses to global and trans-regional threats. The remaining 73% are earmarked for rapid initial responses to situations of political crisis and natural disasters.

References

ee also

* ECHO
* Civilian Peacekeeping Mission in Aceh

External links

* [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/l_327/l_32720061124en00010011.pdf EC Regulation No 1717/2006]
* [http://ec.europa.eu/comm/dgs/external_relations/general/mission_en.htm DG RELEX]