Lobbying by European Peacebuilding Liaison Office

European Peacebuilding Liaison Office

EPLO

EPLO is the largest independent platform of European NGOs, networks of NGOs and think tanks active in the field of peacebuilding, who share an interest in promoting sustainable peacebuilding policies among decision-makers in the EU.

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ID: 0878397912-17

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Hildegard Bentele (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

13 Nov 2025 · Global Gateway

Response to EU Civil Society Strategy

4 Sept 2025

The EUs initiative to develop a Civil Society Strategy offers the opportunity to establish a coherent framework for engagement, safeguard existing mechanisms of dialogue that are under pressure, and protect civil society facing increasing restrictions. Civil society plays a fundamental role in shaping EU policy, as well as in promoting democracy, participation, human rights, gender equality and social cohesion. In addition to providing oversight and plural perspectives, CSOs bring in specialised expertise, contributing to policy development with evidence-based input. EU engagement remains fragmented, mostly ad hoc and often tokenistic. Consultations tend to happen too late in the policymaking cycle, reducing the impact of CSO input. The absence of systematic feedback undermines trust, discourages participation and weakens accountability of EU institutions. In addition, civil society contributions are often overlooked due to their cumulative and intangible nature, which is difficult to measure with numerical and quantitative indicators. A Civil Society Strategy provides the opportunity to address these shortcomings and ensure dialogue is meaningful, regular and instutionalised, happens early in the policymaking process, and includes transparent feedback on how input is used. Meaningful civil society participation requires lifting some of the existing practical barriers. With limited financial and human resources, some CSOs can be discouraged to engage given the difficult access to information (clarity on policymaking timelines, preparatory studies and documents, financial statements, parliamentary proceedings, etc.) and administrative burden. This Strategy can help set up more structured, accessible and inclusive forms of engagement, as well as increase transparency of the policymaking process. At the same time, engagement is also limited by the lack of a proper enabling environment. In Europe and beyond, CSOs are facing increasingly restrictive laws, intimidations, smear campaigns and explicit attacks from politicians and media outlets. Without protecting fundamental freedoms and ensuring transparency in EU institutions themselves, any engagement framework will remain ineffective. Civil society engagement is also crucial in EU external action. It contributes to strengthening democracy and human rights in partner countries, and provides EU policymakers with perspectives that are usually missing in government-to-government exchanges. In fragile and conflict affected countries, local CSOs identify conflict dynamics and peace drivers and highlight human security needs. Their involvement increases the EUs legitimacy in the eyes of local communities, and makes EU programming more responsive to local priorities. Safeguarding civic space in partner countries is an essential component of EU external action objectives and allows the Union to uphold its own values externally. The next Multiannual Financial Framework presents a major opportunity to reinforce support for civil society globally. This includes restoring a stand-alone objective for CSOs in the Global Europe regulation, establishing requirements for structured dialogues at all stages of EU programming, capacity building for CSOs, and coherence in engagement across the different geographic pillars. The development of a Civil Society Strategy provides an opportunity to operationalise these commitments through a common framework for all different EU institutions and bodies.

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Meeting with Marco Tarquinio (Member of the European Parliament)

5 Jun 2025 · Peacekeeping actions

Meeting with Lukas Holub (Head of Unit Budget)

7 May 2025 · Next MFF

Meeting with Cecilia Strada (Member of the European Parliament)

29 Apr 2025 · The role of peacebuilding operations in fostering human rights and preventing and resolving conflicts through non-violence

Meeting with Lora Borissova (Cabinet of Commissioner Hadja Lahbib)

28 Mar 2025 · MFF

Meeting with Peter Wagner (Director Foreign Policy Instruments)

14 Mar 2025 · FPI and EPLO met to discuss the state of play of the MFF and opportunities for CSDN.

Meeting with Alexandra Geese (Member of the European Parliament)

4 Mar 2025 · Exchange on Women's Rights and Peace

Meeting with Sabine Zwaenepoel (Acting Head of Unit Directorate-General for International Partnerships)

18 Feb 2025 · Updating on EPLOs contribution to and cooperation in the context of peace building and stability at global level

Meeting with Villy Søvndal (Member of the European Parliament) and CONCORD Europe

11 Sept 2024 · General point of information on development policy and reception

Meeting with Hannah Neumann (Member of the European Parliament)

30 Nov 2023 · Women, Peace, Security

Meeting with Hannah Neumann (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Nov 2023 · Women, Peace and Security

Meeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner) and OXFAM INTERNATIONAL EU ADVOCACY OFFICE and

1 Dec 2022 · Speech at the 2nd GAP III Structured Dialogue with CSOs

Meeting with Hilde Hardeman (Head of service Foreign Policy Instruments)

23 Nov 2021 · Cooperation on conflict prevention and peace building

Meeting with Olai Voionmaa (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)

18 Jun 2021 · Exchange with civil society networks representation on peace and development.

Meeting with Josep Borrell Fontelles (High Representative)

16 Mar 2021 · Conflict prevention and peace-building

Meeting with Szabolcs Horvath (Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi)

13 Mar 2020 · Eplo work on ELARG

Meeting with Fiona Knab-Lunny (Cabinet of High Representative Josep Borrell Fontelles)

6 Feb 2020 · EPLO will present their work on conflict prevention and peacebuilding

Response to MFF: 9th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and Rules for Participation and Dissemination

23 Aug 2018

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Response to Multiannual Financial Framework: IPA III Regulation

10 Aug 2018

The European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO) is the independent civil society platform of European NGOs, networks of NGOs and think tanks which are committed to peacebuilding and the prevention of violent conflict. We aim to influence the EU so that it promotes and implements measures which lead to sustainable peace between states and within states and peoples, and which transform and resolve conflicts non-violently. In February 2018, EPLO published a statement in which we set out our overall priorities for the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF): 1. Increase the external actions component of the MFF and keep it separate from other priorities; 2. Continue to allocate specific funding for activities aimed at conflict prevention and peacebuilding; 3. Ensure that all EU external action is conflict- and gender-sensitive; 4. Include conflict prevention and peacebuilding as objectives in all EU external financing instruments; 5. Strengthen the involvement of civil society in EU external action. Based on our initial analysis of the legislative proposal for the Regulation establishing the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III), we welcome the European Commission's (EC) intention to increase the overall financial allocation. We also welcome the inclusion of 'Strengthening the Union and its partners' capacity to prevent conflict, build peace and address pre-and post-crisis' as a thematic priority in Annex II (Thematic priorities for assistance) with a caveat (see below). However, we have a number of major concerns about the proposal, particularly the fact that it does not include peacebuilding as an objective. This stands in stark contrast to the IPA II Regulation in which 'promotion of reconciliation, peace-building and confidence-building measures' are included as part of the 'support for political reforms' specific objective (IPA II Article 2.1.a.iv). We are also concerned about the absence in the IPA III proposal of the following article from the IPA II Regulation: - promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, enhanced respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, promotion of gender equality, non-discrimination and tolerance, as well as freedom of the media and respect for cultural diversity (IPA II Article 2.1.a.ii); Similarly, we are concerned about the absence in the IPA III proposal of the following indicators which were included in the IPA II Regulation (Article 2.2.a) in order to facilitate measurement of progress towards the achievement of its specific objectives: - gender equality and women's rights; - reconciliation; - good neighbourly relations. Finally, we are concerned about the inclusion in the IPA III proposal of 'supporting capacity building in support of security and development (CBSD) actions' as part of the 'Strengthening the Union and its partners' capacity to prevent conflict, build peace and address pre-and post-crisis' thematic priority in Annex II. Given the concerns which we have raised over the past three years about the inclusion of CBSD in the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP), we are concerned about the extent to which it will be supported under IPA III and its potential impact on the financial resources which are available for long-term civilian peacebuilding actions and other priorities. In May 2018, we published a statement (see attachment) in which we set out our recommendations for minimising the risks involved in the implementation of CBSD measures.

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Response to Multiannual Financial Framework: Proposal for the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument

10 Aug 2018

The European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO) is the independent civil society platform of European NGOs, networks of NGOs and think tanks which are committed to peacebuilding and the prevention of violent conflict. We aim to influence the EU so that it promotes and implements measures which lead to sustainable peace between states and within states and peoples, and which transform and resolve conflicts non-violently. In February 2018, EPLO published a statement (attached) in which we set out our overall priorities for the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF): 1. Increase the external actions component of the MFF and keep it separate from other priorities; 2. Continue to allocate specific funding for activities aimed at conflict prevention and peacebuilding; 3. Ensure that all EU external action is conflict- and gender-sensitive; 4. Include conflict prevention and peacebuilding as objectives in all EU external financing instruments; 5. Strengthen the involvement of civil society in EU external action. Based on our initial analysis of the legislative proposal for the Regulation establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), we welcome the European Commission's (EC) intention to increase the financial resources available to support external actions, including peacebuilding, development co-operation, human rights and democracy support, rule of law etc. Although we remain unconvinced by the arguments which the EC and the European External Action Service (EEAS) have put forward to date to justify the decision not to maintain a separate instrument dedicated to supporting peacebuilding and conflict prevention (i.e. a successor to the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP)), we also welcome the inclusion in the NDICI proposal of 'Peace' as an area for co-operation under geographic programmes, the 'Stability and Peace' thematic programme and 'Rapid response actions'. However, we have a number of major concerns about the proposal, including the need for it to have a greater focus on: - conflict prevention and peacebuilding overall; - human security; - conflict sensitivity; - gender equality and the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda; - youth, peace and security (YPS); We also have concerns about the lack of detail included in the proposal compared to the IcSP (e.g. comparison between IcSP Article 4 (Assistance for conflict prevention, peace-building and crisis preparedness) and the 'Stability and Peace' component of NDICI Annex III (Areas of intervention for thematic programmes) or between IcSP Article 3 (Assistance in response to situations of crisis or emerging crisis to prevent conflicts) and the 'Actions contributing to stability and conflict prevention in situations of urgency, emerging crisis, crisis and postcrisis' component of NDICI Annex IV (Areas of intervention for rapid response actions)). The lack of detail in the NDICI proposal about the types of peacebuilding actions which may be supported through geographic programmes, the 'Stability and Peace' thematic programme or 'Rapid response actions' is even more remarkable given the focus which has been placed on 'Capacity building of military actors in support of development and security for development' (CBSD). There is a dedicated CBSD article (Article 9) in the proposal for a Regulation and it is included in Annex II (Areas of intervention for geographic programmes), Annex III and Annex IV. Given the concerns which we have raised about the inclusion of CBSD in the IcSP over the past three years, we are concerned about the extent to which it will be supported under the NDICI and its potential impact on the financial resources which are available for long-term civilian peacebuilding actions and other priorities. Finally, we have concerns about the proposed governance of the NDICI and the role of the European Parliament (EP) in it.

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Meeting with Irena Andrassy (Cabinet of Vice-President Neven Mimica)

17 May 2016 · Gender Action Plan implementation from the development perspective

Meeting with Michael Curtis (Cabinet of High Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini)

1 Oct 2015 · Introductions/Cooperation.