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.
