After a brief history of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), which was much influenced by American strategy and that of the Atlantic Alliance, the author looks at the current state of European defence in the run-up to the tenth anniversary of the St-Malo summit. At a time when choices have to be made, four options are open to the EU: a European Army, a common defence, a ‘defence Schengen’ and a sharing of tasks with NATO and the United States.
ESDP: Assessment and Prospects (1998-2008)
A report in 2005 by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies(1) noted that ‘Failure to meaningfully improve Europe’s collective defence capabilities in the coming years would have profoundly negative impacts on the ability of European countries to protect their interests, the viability of NATO as an alliance and the ability of European countries to partner in any meaningful way with the United States to meet shared security challenges.’ The reality of an autonomous European defence policy is a strategic necessity. It is also the key precondition for Europe to impose itself on the international scene as a world power. In sum, there can be no common foreign policy in the absence of a credible European defence.
It is therefore appropriate to look at the current state of European defence. To clarify this issue, we need to examine the principle axes and results of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) over the past ten years, since the St-Malo summit. This leads to us to further questions about its future, and the new possibilities it offers to a Europe confronted with the challenges of a threatening international environment.
Ten Years of ESDP
St-Malo
The founding act of European defence policy was the Franco-British summit in St-Malo in December 1998. At that time Britain (which had maintained its distance from European monetary union) expressed its wish to take a step towards the Union.
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