Operationalisation
In term of administrative structures and processes to operationalise a WGA, Portugal’s MFA has established information-sharing mechanisms (e.g. with the embassies and the permanent representation in Brussels), and the MND has internal reporting mechanisms. However, information-sharing within other institutions and between sectors is mainly done on an informal basis. Information is mainly gathered within the individual institutions or sectors, and there is no aggregation of data (e.g. regarding military and police participation in EU and international peace missions). What’s more, poor information-sharing can sometimes also result from squabbling over competences and attempts to gain more visibility.
There can also be a lack of coordination within individual sectors. For example, as mentioned above, the profusion of different forces in Portugal’s security sector leads to multiple political authorities and, in some cases, overlapping responsibilities and conflicts of jurisdictions. Within the development sector, there are some structures for coordination, such as the Inter-ministerial Commission for Cooperation (CIC). However, in practice, these mainly result in information-sharing, and the system remains fragmented – including in budgetary terms – owing to the plethora of actors and actions. Both of these sectors would benefit from improved intra-sectoral coordination, which would then allow for efforts aimed at improving inter-sectoral coordination between the security and development sectors. It should also be noted that, as in most countries, dialogue and coordination between security and development actors is impacted by different views, languages, mandates and approaches.
At the same time, Portugal has had some success at creating specific WGA-like structures to coordinate external action related to a specific issue. For example, the Portuguese Commission for Supporting the Transition in East Timor (CATTL) was created at the national level to coordinate external action, and Portugal was involved in diplomatic efforts in the transition process on a multilateral basis led by the UN (e.g. UNTAET, UNMIT) as well as several international peace missions (e.g. ones regarding the Portuguese language and capacity-building in several sectors as well as bilateral agreements on police cooperation and training). Another example is Portugal’s actions in the 2008–2010 period in Guinea-Bissau, which simultaneously included diplomatic efforts; participation in an EU ESDP mission on security-sector reform combining defence, justice and police; and development-cooperation actions. In practice, East Timor and Guinea-Bissau are examples of the diverse fields of action in which Portugal has been engaged. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of discussion of the results of initiatives like these, from which lessons learned could be extracted so as to improve future planning and action.
More recent examples of implementing a WGA can be found in the framework of foreign policy. One good example is the nomination of an ambassador for the Sahel, as Portugal did not have this specifically regional approach beforehand in terms of human resources. Another example is Portugal’s actions related to Venezuela, which comprises diplomatic efforts (i.e. bilateral political dialogue and coordination within the EU) and aid (i.e. financing the EU/ECHO joint pool fund for NGOs working inside Venezuela and also through bilateral aid to the refugees in Colombia).
A specific thematic structure that could bring about some positive results is the Coordination Unit for Humanitarian and Emergency Aid, a unit chaired by Camoes – Institute for Cooperation and Language, the Portuguese development agency. Despite some practical difficulties in coordinating participating actors, this coordination structure has been functioning since approximately 2017. Its members include representatives of Camoes (as the MFA’s proxy) as wells as of the ministries responsible for the national-defence, internal-administration, health and social-protection sectors, who have regular biannual meetings as well as extraordinary meetings (e.g. when Hurricane Idai ravaged Mozambique in March 2019). The unit’s creation has recently sparked a process of clarifying concepts, understanding the language of different stakeholders, and debating issues on the humanitarian agenda, all of which were not done beforehand. Although this process is still in its infancy, it represents a concrete step towards a more coordinated WGA in this area.
It should also be noted that coordination within international structures and missions is mostly vertical. Regarding humanitarian/ emergency missions and aid, the central coordinating role is played by the UN through OCHA and sectoral or thematic clusters (e.g. WFP for food aid or WHO for health), and Portuguese support and related organisations are included in those clusters. In the UN or EU missions in which Portugal participates, both at the planning and operational stages, coordination takes place vertically between the Portuguese contingent (whether civil, military or police) and the EU or UN mission (since they are included in a defined command/structure and division of work) rather than horizontally (between Portuguese forces or officials).
Coordination between ministries and several actors is particularly difficult when an emergency arises and prompts a Portuguese external intervention that is not within an EU or international framework. This was the case with the recent response to Hurricane Idai in Mozambique, where there was a prompt response and deployment capacity but a certain lack of clarity regarding mandates between political responsibilities and humanitarian responses (military and civil) as well as difficulties in coordinating efforts in the field. It should be noted, however, that such difficulties in coordination are common to most EU countries.