Presentation of the Programme

Issues

Resolving major social and ecological challenges requires a high level of international cooperation, which will only be possible in a context of reduced competition between states. Moving towards a state of balanced international cooperation is therefore a key element in the ecological and social transition.

Context

Conflicts have never completely disappeared, but the 1990s promised that they would be gradually reduced to as low a level as possible. War would give way to ‘peacekeeping’ operations, even if the wars in Yugoslavia and Iraq contradicted this paradigm. Since 11 September 2001 and the collapse of the neo-conservative crusade, conflict has been on the increase. China’s ambition is to challenge the hegemony of the United States, and while their power relations have not yet taken the form of direct military conflict, the two countries are engaged in a threatening arms race. There is also no shortage of tensions of varying degrees of intensity in the Middle East and Africa, and now in Europe with the Russian-Ukrainian war. Regional powers such as Iran, Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Pakistan and India all have strong military capabilities, and any one of them could be drawn into a chain of events with unpredictable consequences. This climate of mistrust is fuelling a nationalist retreat in societies that are less and less inclusive of exiles, whose numbers are growing rapidly as a result of ecological, economic and socio-political problems. Lacking political integration, Europe is ill-equipped to meet these challenges and to play a role.

Sub-Programmes and Beneficiaries

EUR1. Governance and regional Integration

EUR2. A humanist approach to migration Policy

EUR3. De-escalation and Peace culture