Abstract

The concept of « Security System Reform » (SSR) has developed since the end of the 1990's as a strategy aimed at preventing conflicts and consolidating peace in unstable countries. Like other international players, the EU developed its own strategies to support the SSR both within the framework of its external policy and inside the ESDP (European Security and Development Policy). The author examines the European approach towards the SSR, its guiding principles as well as its institutional framework and its constraints in terms of operation. He notably highlights the importance of improving the consistency between the various EU instruments in the matter of support towards the SSR and to strengthening the coordination between the EU actors involved in this field, including those from the Member States.

Key words : SSR, EU, EC, ESDP, coordination