Print Official Journal L 327 , 24/11/2006 P. 0001 - 0011
Regulation (EC) No 1717/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 15 November 2006
establishing an Instrument for Stability
(emphasis added)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, (...)
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Title I
Objectives and scope
Article 1
Objectives
1. The Community shall undertake development cooperation measures, as well as financial, economic and technical cooperation measures with third countries under the conditions set out in this Regulation.
2. (a) in a situation of crisis or emerging crisis, to contribute to stability by providing an effective response to help preserve, establish or re-establish the conditions essential to the proper implementation of the Community's development and cooperation policies;
(b) in the context of stable conditions for the implementation of Community cooperation policies in third countries, to help build capacity both to address specific global and transregional threats having a destabilising effect and to ensure preparedness to address pre- and post-crisis situations.
3. Measures taken under this Regulation may be complementary to, and shall be consistent with, and without prejudice to, measures adopted under Title V and Title VI of the EU Treaty.
Article 2
Complementarity of Community assistance
1. Community assistance under this Regulation shall be complementary to that provided for under related Community instruments for external assistance. It shall be provided only to the extent that an adequate and effective response cannot be provided under those instruments.
2. The Commission shall ensure that measures adopted under this Regulation are consistent with the Community's overall strategic policy framework for the partner country, and in particular with the objectives of the instruments referred to in paragraph 1, as well as with other relevant Community measures.
3. In order to enhance the effectiveness and consistency of Community and national assistance measures, the Commission shall promote close coordination between its own activities and those of the Member States, both at decision-making level and on the ground. To that end, the Member States and the Commission shall operate a system for exchange of information.
Article 3
Assistance in response to situations of crisis or emerging crisis
1. Community technical and financial assistance in pursuit of the specific aims set out in point (a) of Article 1(2) may be undertaken in response to a situation of urgency, crisis or emerging crisis, a situation posing a threat to democracy, law and order, the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, or the security and safety of individuals, or a situation threatening to escalate into armed conflict or severely to destabilise the third country or countries concerned. Such measures may also address situations where the Community has invoked the essential elements clauses of international Agreements in order to suspend, partially or totally, cooperation with third countries.
2. (a) support, through the provision of technical and logistical assistance, for the efforts undertaken by international and regional organisations, state and non-state actors in promoting confidence-building, mediation, dialogue and reconciliation;
(b) support for the establishment and the functioning of interim administrations mandated in accordance with international law;
(c) support for the development of democratic, pluralistic state institutions, including measures to enhance the role of women in such institutions, effective civilian administration and related legal frameworks at national and local level, an independent judiciary, good governance and law and order, including non-military technical cooperation to strengthen overall civilian control, and oversight over the security system and measures to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement and judicial authorities involved in the fight against the illicit trafficking of people, drugs, firearms and explosive materials;
(d) support for international criminal tribunals and ad hoc national tribunals, truth and reconciliation commissions, and mechanisms for the legal settlement of human rights claims and the assertion and adjudication of property rights, established in accordance with international human rights and rule of law standards;
(e) support for measures necessary to start the rehabilitation and reconstruction of key infrastructure, housing, public buildings and economic assets, as well as essential productive capacity, and for the re-starting of economic activity and the generation of employment and the establishment of the minimum conditions necessary for sustainable social development;
(f) support for civilian measures related to the demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants into civil society, and where appropriate their repatriation, as well as measures to address the situation of child soldiers and female combatants;
(g) support for measures to mitigate the social effects of restructuring of the armed forces;
(h) support for measures to address, within the framework of Community cooperation policies and their objectives, the socio-economic impact on the civilian population of anti-personnel landmines, unexploded ordnance or explosive remnants of war; activities financed under this Regulation shall cover risk education, victim assistance, mine detection and clearance and, in conjunction therewith, stockpile destruction;
(i) support for measures to address, within the framework of Community cooperation policies and their objectives, the impact on the civilian population of the illicit use of and access to firearms; such support shall be limited to survey activities, victim assistance, raising public awareness and the development of legal and administrative expertise and good practice.
Assistance shall be provided only to the extent necessary to re-establish the conditions for social and economic development of the populations concerned, in a situation of crisis or emerging crisis as referred to in paragraph 1. It shall not include support for measures to combat the proliferation of arms;
(j) support for measures to ensure that the specific needs of women and children in crisis and conflict situations, including their exposure to gender-based violence, are adequately met;
(k) support for the rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims of armed conflict, including measures to address the specific needs of women and children;
(l) support for measures to promote and defend respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law, and the related international instruments;
(m) support for socio-economic measures to promote equitable access to and transparent management of natural resources in a situation of crisis or emerging crisis;
(n) support for socio-economic measures to address the impact of sudden population movements, including measures addressing the needs of host communities in a situation of crisis or emerging crisis;
(o) support for measures to support the development and organisation of civil society and its participation in the political process, including measures to enhance the role of women in such processes and measures to promote independent, pluralist and professional media;
(p) support for measures in response to natural or man-made disasters and threats to public health in the absence of, or to complement, Community humanitarian assistance.
3. - fall within the general scope and specific aims set out in Article 1(a), and
- are limited in duration to the period laid down in Article 6(2), and
- would normally be eligible under the other Community instruments for external assistance, but which, in accordance with Article 2, should be addressed through this Regulation because of the need to respond rapidly to a situation of crisis or emerging crisis.
Article 4
Assistance in the context of stable conditions for cooperation
(1) threats to law and order, to the security and safety of individuals, to critical infrastructure and to public health;
(a) strengthening the capacity of law enforcement and judicial and civil authorities involved in the fight against terrorism and organised crime, including illicit trafficking of people, drugs, firearms and explosive materials and in the effective control of illegal trade and transit.
Priority shall be given to trans-regional cooperation involving third countries which have demonstrated a clear political will to address these problems. Measures in this area shall place particular emphasis on good governance and shall be in accordance with international law, in particular human rights law and international humanitarian law.
With regard to assistance to authorities involved in the fight against terrorism, priority shall be given to supporting measures concerning the development and strengthening of counter-terrorism legislation, the implementation and practice of financial law, of customs law and of immigration law and the development of international procedures for law enforcement.
With regard to assistance relating to the problem of drugs, due attention shall be given to international cooperation aimed at promoting best practices relating to the reduction of demand, production and harm;
(b) support for measures to address threats to international transport, energy operations and critical infrastructure, including passenger and freight traffic and energy distribution.
Measures adopted in this area shall place particular emphasis on trans-regional cooperation and the implementation of international standards in the fields of risk awareness, vulnerability analysis, emergency preparedness, alert and consequence management;
(c) contributing to ensuring an adequate response to sudden major threats to public health, such as epidemics with a potential trans-national impact.
Particular emphasis shall be placed on emergency-planning, management of vaccine and pharmaceutical stockpiles, international cooperation, early warning and alert systems;
(2) risk mitigation and preparedness relating to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials or agents;
(a) the promotion of civilian research activities as an alternative to defence-related research, and support for the retraining and alternative employment of scientists and engineers formerly employed in weapons-related areas;
(b) support for measures to enhance safety practices related to civilian facilities where sensitive chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials or agents are stored, or are handled in the context of civilian research programmes;
(c) support, within the framework of Community cooperation policies and their objectives, for the establishment of civil infrastructure and relevant civilian studies necessary for the dismantlement, remediation or conversion of weapons-related facilities and sites where these are declared as no longer belonging to a defence programme;
(d) strengthening the capacity of the competent civilian authorities involved in the development and enforcement of effective control of illicit trafficking in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials or agents (including the equipment for their production or delivery), including through the installation of modern logistical evaluation and control equipment;
(e) the development of the legal framework and institutional capacities for the establishment and enforcement of effective export controls on dual-use goods, including regional cooperation measures;
(f) the development of effective civilian disaster-preparedness, emergency-planning, crisis response, and capabilities for clean-up measures in relation to possible major environmental incidents in this field;
as regards the measures covered by points (b) and (d), particular emphasis shall be placed on assistance to those regions or countries where stockpiles of materials or agents referred to in points (b) and (d) still exist and where there is a risk of proliferation of such materials or agents.
(3) Pre- and post-crisis capacity building
(a) promoting early warning, confidence-building, mediation and reconciliation, and addressing emerging inter-community tensions;
(b) improving post-conflict and post-disaster recovery.
Measures under this point shall include know-how transfer, the exchange of information, risk/threat assessment, research and analysis, early warning systems and training. Measures may also include, where appropriate, financial and technical assistance for the implementation of those Recommendations made by the UN Peacebuilding Commission falling within the objectives of Community cooperation policy.
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