European Union crisis management: challenges for research and practice

Abstract

This article raises the question as to what role the EU can and should play in European crisis management. The EU has, in an ad hoc fashion, taken on the responsibility of protecting the security and safety of people from threats, ranging from the mad cow disease to terrorism, after 9/11 and bombings in Madrid and London. The challenge for research is to understand why the EU has been increasingly involved in crisis management. How is an 'EU crisis' socially constructed? What 'EU core values' must be threatened? Why do citizens expect the EU to act? What is the EU's 'crisis management capacity'? The challenge for practitioners is to discuss why, when, how and with what capacities the EU should be involved in crisis management. What should be the division of competence between EU institutions and member states?