European Integration History: Phases, Results and Achievements. Political

Karina Kostiantynivna Barantseva, Ph.D., Associate Professor

and Security Policy (CFSP)
Towards a European defence policy

common defence and security policy, 68 per cent support a

common foreign policy, and 49 per cent believe that decisions on defence policy should be taken by the EU (compared to 21 per cent by national governments and 17 per cent by NATO).
They also feel (by large margins) that the EU can play a more positive role than the United States in promoting international peace, encouraging environmental protection, pursuing the war on terrorism, and fighting poverty.

(Eurobarometer 66, December 2006)

pursued most actively by the French, and was to have

been built on the foundations of a common European army and a European minister of defence. However, Britain was opposed to the idea, preferring to pursue the goals of the Treaty of Brussels and to bring Italy and West Germany into the fold. All prospects of an EDC finally died in 1 9 5 4 when the French National Assembly turned it down.

Community leaders in Hague in 1969.
It was a

process by which the six foreign ministers would meet to discuss and coordinate foreign policy positions. EPC was not incorporated into the founding treaties, it remained a loose and voluntary arrangement outside the Community, no laws were adopted on foreign policy, each of the member states could still act independently, and most of the key decisions on foreign policy had to be unanimous.

bring leaders of the member states together to coordinate policies.
EPC

was strictly intergovernmental, and was overseen by the foreign ministers meeting as the Council of Ministers, with overall leadership coming from the European Council. Regular meetings of senior officials from all the foreign ministries provided continuity, and a small secretariat was set up in Brussels to help the country holding the presidency of the Council of Ministers, which provided most of the momentum.

which confirmed that the member states would 'endeavour jointly to

formulate and implement a European foreign policy'.
But then came the Gulf War of 1990 - 91 , which found the Community both divided and unprepared.

changes then taking place in Eastern Europe and the former

USSR - emphasized the need for Europe to address its foreign policy more forcefully, and political pressure grew for a review of EPC.
The result was its replacement under Maastricht by the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

steel,
and atomic energy)

Common Foreign
and Security
Policy (CFSP)
Justice and
Home Affairs
Policy
The First Pillar
The

Second Pillar

The Third Pillar

member states on key international issues. Their UN ambassadors met

frequently to coordinate policy, the EU agreed several 'common strategies', such as those on Russia and the Ukraine, 'joint actions', such as transporting humanitarian aid to Bosnia and sending observers to elections in Russia and South Africa, and 'common positions' on EU relations with other countries, including the Balkans, the Middle East, Myanmar, and Zimbabwe.

by the Treaty of Amsterdam: as well as opening up

the possibility of limited majority voting on foreign policy issues.

in Brussels to help the EU anticipate foreign crises, and

the old habit of having four different regional external affairs portfolios in the European Commission ended with the creation of a single foreign policy post and the appointment of a High Representative on foreign policy; the first office-holder was Javier Solana, former secretary-general of NATO

easier for the EU to be more active and coherent

in the CFSP.
These changes include the appointment of an EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who coordinates between EU countries to shape and implement foreign policy. The High Representative is assisted by civilian and military staff, the European External Action Service.

Petersberg, near Bonn, issued a declaration in which they agreed

that military units from member states could be used to promote the 'Petersberg talks':
humanitarian,
rescue,
peacekeeping,
other crisis management jobs (including peacemaking).

of the Petersberg tasks into the EU treaties, and newly-minted

British prime minister Tony Blair signalled his willingness to see Britain play a more central role in EU defence matters.

European military outside EU and NATO structures with the founding

in May 1992 of Eurocorps, set up by France and Germany to replace an experimental Franco-German brigade set up in 1990. Headquartered in Strasbourg, the 60,000-member Eurocorps became operational in November 1995, has been joined by contingents from Belgium, Luxembourg, and Spain, and has sent missions to Bosnia (1998), Kosovo (2000), and Afghanistan (2004).

launched.
An integral part of the CFSP, this was to

consist of two key components:
the Petersberg tasks,
a 60,000-member Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) that could be deployed at 60 days' notice and sustained for at least one year, and could carry out these tasks.

The Force - championed mainly by Britain and France - was not intended to be a standing army, was designed to complement rather than compete with NATO, and could only act when NATO had decided not to be involved in a crisis.

of 2003, but it proved more of a challenge than

expected, and by 2004 the EU was talking of the more modest goal of creating 'battle groups' that could be deployed more quickly and for shorter periods than the RRF. The groups would consist of 1,500 troops each that could be committed within 15 days, and could be sustainable for between 30 and 120 days.

Strategy, the first ever declaration by EU member states of

their strategic goals.
The Strategy declared that the EU was 'inevitably a global player', and 'should be ready to share in the responsibility for global security'. It listed the key threats facing the EU as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, failing states, and organized crime.

Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), it relies on ad hoc

forces contributed by EU countries for:
joint disarmament operations
humanitarian and rescue tasks
military advice and assistance
conflict prevention and peace-keeping
tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peace-making and post-conflict stabilisation.
All these tasks may contribute to the fight against terrorism, including by supporting third countries in combating terrorism in their territories.

the European Council appointed Catherine Ashton High Representative of the

Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
She chairs the Foreign Affairs Council and conducts the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Drawing on her role as Vice-President of the European Commission, she ensures the consistency and coordination of the European Union's external action.

Service (EEAS). EEAS staff come from the European Commission, the

General Secretariat of the Council and the Diplomatic Services of EU Member States.

defending people interests
Justice
Guaranteeing fundamental rights
Home Affairs:
managing asylum and immigration
addressing

internal security challenges

their lives and go about their business in security and

safety – safe from international crime and terrorism.
They should also have access to the local justice system and be able to trust that their fundamental rights will be respected wherever they are in the EU.
In addition, immigration from non-EU countries needs to be managed in a fair and sustainable way.

or border checks.
In a Europe of open borders, more and

more people live, work and do business in other EU countries. The EU wants to make life easier for them by building an EU-wide area of justice. The aim is to offer practical solutions to cross-border problems, so that citizens feel at ease when moving around the EU and businesses can make full use of the Single Market.

rights, democratic institutions and the rule of law. Its Charter

of Fundamental Rights sets out all the personal, civil, political, economic and social rights EU citizens enjoy. The EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) helps policymakers to pass new laws and works to raise public awareness of fundamental rights.

cross-border crime.
Cooperation has intensified between national judicial authorities to ensure

that legal decisions taken in one member country are recognised and implemented in any other.
To help in the fight against serious crimes such as corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism, the EU has established the European Judicial Network.
The European arrest warrant has replaced lengthy extradition procedures, so that suspected or convicted criminals who have fled abroad can be swiftly returned to the country where they were tried, or are due to be tried.

asylum seekers are intended to guarantee a high level of

protection for those who need it, while ensuring that national asylum systems cannot be abused.
EU leaders are also developing a common, balanced and comprehensive EU immigration policy in order to seize the opportunities that legal immigration may bring to the European economies and societies, while tackling the challenges of irregular immigration.
Furthermore, effective controls at all points of entry into the EU are a precondition for the freedom of movement of people in the Union. EU countries are working together to improve security through better external border controls, while making it easier for those with a right to enter the EU to do so. Operational cooperation between EU countries is managed by the EU external borders agency FRONTEX.

sets out to improve internal security through cooperation on law

enforcement, border management, civil protection and disaster management.
The strategy includes legislation and practical ways to stop organised criminals – drug barons, human traffickers, money launderers, terrorists – from exploiting the freedoms the EU brings and to improve cooperation between national police forces, especially within the framework of the European Police Office (Europol).