IMSD Panel on multi-track mediation of the European Union

As part of  the German EU Council Presidency, the German Federal Foreign Office held a virtual conference on 11 September 2020 on "Mediation as a key instrument of the Common Foreign and Security Policy". The high-level event brought together EU ambassadors, Mediation Focal Points of EU Member States and selected representatives of peace mediation organizations.

Together with its partners from the Initiative Mediation Support Deutschland (IMSD) network, ZIF organized a panel on "Multi-track EU mediation - Voices from the field on opportunities & challenges". The discussion was enriched with concrete experiences from the field on EU mediation engagement ranging from Serbia and Kosovo to the South Caucasus and Somalia.

Participants exchanged views on current approaches and challenges of peace mediation as part of the EU's foreign policy instrument. The importance of coordinating mediation efforts at different levels of society in order to enable a coherent, efficient and sustainable approach was emphasised. In particular, cooperation with civil society actors should also be intensified. In doing so, local resources and the potential of CSDP instruments could be used to a greater extent.