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| Updated: 04-Oct-2001 | NATO Publications |
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The framework for the political development of the Union during the 1970s and 1980s was formally known as European Political Cooperation or "EPC". The establishment of a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the Treaty on the European Union which came into force in 1993 represented a substantive and qualitative leap forward. The main objectives of the CFSP, as set out in the Treaty, are as follows:
The EU decision-making procedures in the field of foreign and security policy are essentially intergovernmental. The European Council defines the general guidelines for CFSP, and except for certain decisions on the implementation of joint actions described earlier, all subsequent decisions taken by the Council of Ministers are taken by unanimity. As part of the continuing process of developing an effective CFSP, the EU has established a procedure for the nomination of special envoys to undertake specific tasks as representatives of the Union. This procedure has, for example, been used to appoint special EU envoys to Bosnia, to the Great Lakes region in Africa, and to the Middle East. At the conclusion of the EU Intergovernmental Conference which took place during 1996 and 1997, the Heads of State and Government concluded the Treaty of Amsterdam. The implications of this Treaty for the future Common Foreign and Security Policy of the Union and for EU-WEU relations are described later in the chapter. Further steps in the implementation of the CFSP and the CESDP were taken at subsequent European Council meetings, and in particular in Cologne in June 1999, in Helsinki in December 1999, and in Lisbon in March 2000. The CFSP is intended to be comprehensive and to cover all areas of foreign and security policy. In the Treaty on the European Union, as well as the associated declaration by the Member States of the Western European Union (WEU), it was decided that the WEU should be an integral part of the development of the Union, and that the EU should be able to request the WEU to elaborate and implement CFSP decisions and actions which have defence implications. In order to ensure coherence between the EU, the WEU and NATO, members of the European Union were invited to accede to the WEU or to become observers, and other European members of NATO were invited to become associate members of the WEU. In approving these measures, European Union leaders emphasised that NATO remained the foundation of the collective defence of its members and would continue to have an important role in crisis management. Moreover, the development of the CESDP would be without prejudice either to the commitments of member countries under Article 5 of the Washington (NATO) Treaty or to Article V of the Brussels (WEU) Treaty. At Helsinki, in December 1999, in addition to the new permanent bodies and interim measures described above, the Council established a common European headline goal for readily deployable military capabilities and agreed to develop collective capability goals in the fields of command and control, intelligence and strategic transport, to enable the EU to carry out the full range of the "Petersberg" tasks. These goals would be achieved through voluntary, coordinated national and international efforts. The headline goal for developing European military capabilities calls for an ability to deploy rapidly, within 60 days, and to sustain for at least one year, operationally capable forces of up to 60 000 troops. Targets for smaller rapid response elements at very high levels of readiness were also set. In Lisbon, three months later, the European Council welcomed the fact that the interim bodies foreseen at Helsinki had been established and that a process had been elaborated for implementing the headline goal and identifying the national contributions which would be needed to meet the above military capability targets. A Capabilities Commitment Conference was scheduled for autumn 2000 1. At the meeting of the European Council in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal, in June 2000, European Union leaders carried forward the CESDP process in a number of fields and in particular with respect to arrangements to be concluded by the Council with regard to contributions to EU military crisis management by third states. These arrangements address the modalities of consultation and/or participation concerning non-EU European NATO members and other countries which are candidates for accession to the EU. The EU Council also agreed that Russia, Ukraine and other European states engaged in political dialogue with the Union, and other interested states might be invited to take part in EU-led operations. The Council welcomed the interest shown by Canada in this context. Furthermore, the Council identified the principles on the basis of which consultation and cooperation with NATO should be developed. Specifically, they proposed to create four ad hoc working groups to address, respectively, security issues; capabilities goals; modalities enabling EU access to NATO assets and capabilities; and the definition of permanent arrangements for EU-NATO consultation. 2 The European Council in Nice, in December 2000, and in Gothenberg in June 2001 developed ESDP including with respect to relations with NATO and with non-EU European Allies. Further information can be obtained from the offices of the different institutions of the European Union described above, from regional information offices of the European Union, and from the European Commission.
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