On 25 June 2026, the European Union urged the international community to scale up conflict prevention, strengthen national ownership, and enhance UN cohesion, in a statement delivered by Peter Wagner, Head of the Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), at the United Nations General Assembly joint debate on peacebuilding. The statement, delivered during the first-ever Peacebuilding Week, reaffirmed the EU's commitment to the Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR) and the UN80 process, and highlighted the EU's role as the main contributor to the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), having provided over EUR 630 million, or 60% of total funding since its inception.
prevention, partnership, and innovation. He noted that for every dollar invested in prevention, seven dollars are saved in post-conflict reconstruction, and pointed to the EU's early warning and conflict analysis methodology as a tool to act before conflicts escalate. On partnership, he emphasized the Team Europe approach and the EU-UN Strategic Partnership on Peace and Security launched in 2023, which strengthens work on conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding, and peace operations. On innovation, he welcomed the PBF's focus on cross-border and regional approaches.
scaling up prevention efforts by investing in early warning systems and inclusive dialogue; strengthening national ownership by supporting local peacebuilders and ensuring full participation of women and youth; and enhancing UN integrated delivery by breaking down silos between humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts, as recognized in the EU's recent communication on humanitarian aid and its renewed integrated approach to fragility.
The EU's statement aligns with the PBAR's findings that prevention works and partnerships matter, and comes amid a global funding crisis, with Wagner urging the best use of available funds. The EU has launched a year-long series of events to produce cross-regionally anchored policy recommendations on UN peacebuilding and conflict prevention by early 2027.
The statement was endorsed by candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Armenia and San Marino.
The EU's push for scaled-up prevention and innovation benefits conflict-affected populations through potentially reduced violence and improved governance, but may strain EU and member state budgets as they increase contributions to the PBF and early warning systems. National governments in fragile states gain from strengthened ownership and local peacebuilding support, though they may face pressure to align with EU-UN frameworks. Civil society organizations and women and youth groups stand to gain from enhanced participation in peacebuilding processes. The private sector and international financial institutions could see new partnership opportunities, but may also face expectations to contribute to funding in a tight fiscal environment.