Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies
AI techniques, or health-related controls described in Chapter 3 have so far proven less amenable to being incorporated fully into foreign policy instruments.
4.1
General evolution of the EU toolbox
4.1.1
Evolution of the core toolbox
The EU has been adding to and fine-tuning its array of human rights and democracy policy instruments for nearly three decades. The Union first began to develop funding instruments on these issues within its external aid in the early 1990s. From the mid-1990s, the EU insisted that all third-country partners sign a so-called ‘essential elements’ clause as part of formal contractual agreements with the Union, committing them to respect democratic norms and human rights standards. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the EU’s commitments intensified as democracy spread globally, and the Union offered assistance to the many governments that committed themselves to political reform. As this stage, the enlargement process in Central and Eastern Europe was perhaps the most significant policy tool for advancing democratic reforms and human rights protection, and it seemed for a while that this would also extend its leverage into the Western Balkans and Turkey. In the last decade, EU policy commitments and instruments have continued to develop at a formal level, even as international trends began to look less favourable for democracy. Governments agreed a set of Council Conclusions in 2009, which reiterated the commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights 299. EU development cooperation became more political in its stated aims, with the European Commission’s Agenda for Change placing support for democracy and human rights at the heart of development aid 300. In 2012, the EU agreed a Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 301, building on the joint Communication issued by the Commission the year before 302. Democracy support was also formally built into an array of external policy frameworks, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy 303 and the EU Consensus on Development304. From 2016, EU Delegations were obliged to report on Commission and Member State initiatives in support of democracy and human rights in their respective countries 305. Although the 2016 Global Strategy centred mainly on security issues, it did formally confirm EU support for human rights and democratic norms around the world. EU foreign policy would aim to foster ‘resilient states’, based on a conviction that ‘a resilient society featuring democracy, trust in institutions, and sustainable development lies at the heart of a resilient state’ 306. Concerned at a gathering authoritarian surge in many regions, European governments issued Council Conclusions in October 2019 with an
Council of the European Union, ‘Council conclusions on Human Rights and Democratisation in third countries’, 2985th Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Brussels, 8 December 2009. 300 European Commission, ‘Increasing the Impact of EU Development Policy: An Agenda for Change’, COM(2011) 637, 2011. 301 Council of the European Union, ‘EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy’, 11855/12, 25 June 2012. 302 European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, ‘Joint Communication to the European Parliament and The Council. Human Rights and Democracy at the Heart of EU external actions- Towards More Effective Approach’, 12 December 2011. 303 European Commission and High Representative of The Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, ‘Joint Communication to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and The Committee of The Regions. Review of the European Neighbourhood Policy’, JOIN(2015), 18 November 2015. 304 European Commission, ‘European consensus on development’, 2017. 305 For more detail on these innovations, see F. Gomez, C. Muguruza and J. Wouters (eds.), EU human rights and democratisation policies: achievements and challenges, Routledge, London, 2018. 306 European External Action Service (EEAS), ‘A stronger Europe: a global strategy for the European Union’s foreign and security policy’, 2016. 299
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