Conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building
The European Commission’s approach to conflict prevention and peace-building is enshrined in its Communication on Conflict Prevention, which aims to address the root causes of conflicts and build sustainable peace.
Nevertheless, the Commission’s response to a crisis is flexible, depending on the particular circumstances. It focuses on short and medium term support for rebuilding of critical state institutions and for peace-building through transitional justice and reconciliation. For example, in the area of governance, the Commission will always try to bolster the democratic process.
If a crisis has a security dimension, the Commission can provide support through its commitment to security system reform 
(SSR), demilitarisation, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) processes, and actions to curb the proliferation of anti-personnel mines (APL) and small arms and light weapons (SALW).
The Commission can also assist in a number of ways if problems occur in the social, economic or environmental sphere. For example, it can help in the repatriation and reintegration of internally displaced people and provide support to ailing health and education systems. Funding and expertise can also be channelled into reviving crippled economies.
The Commission can play a role in conflict prevention and post-conflict peace building. Far from looking away when a conflict is ongoing, the Commission can actively engage in mediation and peace support operations.
In terms of building a post-conflict peace, the Commission follows the conflict-sensitive or ‘do no harm’ approach, which means ensuring that its activities are always carried out sensitively so as not to worsen the conflict dynamics.
The Commission is keen to provide development co-operation in an effective, efficient and sustainable way. It actively seeks to ensure that donor responses are properly coordinated and harmonised, while promoting national ownership of recovery plans for conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building.
