History of the Common Security and Defence Policy
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This article outlines the history of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union (EU), a part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
The
Origins
Towards the end of World War II, the There Allied Powers discussed during the Tehran Conference and the ensuing 1943 Moscow Conference the plans to establish joint institutions. This led to a decision at the Yalta Conference in 1944 to include Free France as the Fourth Allied Power and to form a European Advisory Commission, later replaced by the Council of Foreign Ministers and the Allied Control Council, following the German surrender and the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.
The growing rift among the Four Powers became evident as a result of the rigged
1948 – 1954: Western Union, its Defence Organisation and failure of the European Defence Community
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Foreign ministers of the five European powers at the signing of the Treaty of Brussels
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British military police displaying the Western Union Standard
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The high-level headquarters of Chairman Montgomery of the Western Union C-in-C Committee, situated in Château des Fougères in Fontainebleau's neighbouring commune Avon
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Western Union air, sea and land commands, situated in the Henry IV quarter at the Palace of Fontainebleau
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1949 poster advertising the Gloster Meteor jet fighter as the spearhead of Western Union defence
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Organigramme of the Western Union
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Eisenhower, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, depicted on 8 October 1951 in front of the flag of NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe(SHAPE). WUDO's plans, structures and responsibility of defending Western Europe were transferred to SHAPE.
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Organisational chart planned for the EDC, including relations to NATO, with specific reference to the North Atlantic Council and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)
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French Prime Minister René Pleven (1951)
The Treaty of Dunkirk was in essence succeeded in March 1948 by Article 4 of the Treaty of Brussels, to which the Benelux countries were also party, established in September the same year the Western Union (WU), also referred to as the Brussels Treaty Organisation (BTO), with an allied European command structure under British Field Marshal Montgomery. West Germany had been occupied by Allied forces and lacked its own means of defense. The military arm of the WU was referred to as the Western Union Defence Organisation (WUDO). The overall command structure was patterned after the wartime Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), which included a joint planning staff.[3] WUDO could also be compared with the defence organisation in the United Kingdom.
When the division of Europe into two opposing camps became considered unavoidable, the threat of the USSR became much more important than the threat of German rearmament. Western Europe, therefore, sought a new mutual defence pact involving the
The establishment of NATO and the
1954 – 1970: A dormant WEU is established
The failure to establish the EDC resulted in the 1954 amendment of the
On a sidenote, had the
On 1 January 1960, in accordance with a decision taken on 21 October the previous year by the Council of Western European Union and with Resolution(59)23 adopted on 16 November 1959 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the WEU activities in social and cultural areas (Social Committee, Public Health Committee, Joint Committee on the Rehabilitation and Resettlement of the Disabled and Cultural Committee) were transferred to the Council of Europe, which was already running programmes in these fields. The European Universities Committee (see CM(60)4; C(59)127 and CM(59)130) was transferred to the Council of Europe separately from the rest of WEU cultural activities.[11]
1970 – 1984: Initial co-ordination of EC foreign policy
In the wake of the EDC's failure, Charles de Gaulle proposed the Fouchet Plan in 1961, which would have created a more intergovernmentally oriented "Union of European Peoples", with a common defence policy. The Fouchet Plan was met with scepticism among the other member states of the European Communities, and never implemented.
In 1970 the European Political Cooperation (EPC) was introduced as an initial coordination of foreign policy within the European Communities (EC). The involvement of the
Although the EPC enhanced the European Communities' role on the international scene during the 1970s, notably in the Middle East conflict and in the creation of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, it was considered a mixed success.
1984 – 1998: WEU revived, EU established
From the late 1970s onwards, efforts were made to add a security dimension to the EC's EPC. Opposition to these efforts from Denmark, Greece and Ireland led the remaining EC countries - all WEU members - to reactivate the WEU by means of the 1984 Rome Declaration.[12] Following the European Communities' 1986 Single European Act, which codified the EPC in EU law contained little of substance on EC defence integration, the WEU member states adopted the Platform on European Security Interests, which emphasised the need for intra-European defence integration and strengthening of NATO's European pillar.
We recall our commitment to build a European union in accordance with the Single European Act, which we all signed as members of the [European Communities]. We are convinced that the construction of an integrated Europe will remain incomplete as long as it does not include security and defence.
— Platform on European Security Interests, Western European Union (The Hague, 27 October 1987)[13]
In 1992, the WEU adopted the
Upon the entry into force of the
At the 1996 NATO ministerial meeting in Berlin, it was agreed that the WEU would oversee the creation of a European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) within NATO structures.[15] The ESDI was intended as a European 'pillar' within NATO, partly to allow European countries to act militarily where NATO wished not to, and partly to alleviate the United States' financial burden of maintaining military bases in Europe, which it had done since the Cold War. The Berlin agreement allowed European countries (through the WEU) to use NATO assets if it so wished.
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Hotel Petersberg, where the Petersberg tasks were defined in 1992.
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Flag of the Western European Union (1993–1995)
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Flag of the Western European Union (1995–2011)
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Emblem of theWestern European Armaments Group(1992-2005)
1998 – 2009: EU takes over WEU tasks, gains autonomous structures
On 4 December 1998 the United Kingdom, which had traditionally opposed the introduction of European autonomous defence capacities, signed the Saint-Malo declaration together with France.
[...] the Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises.
— Saint-Malo declaration, 4 December 1998[16]
This marked a turning point as the declaration endorsed the creation of a European security and defense policy, including a European military force capable of autonomous action.[17] The declaration was a response to the Kosovo War in the late 1990s, in which the EU was perceived to have failed to intervene to stop the conflict.[18]
Following the establishment of the ESDI and the St. Malo declaration, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were among others who voiced concern that an independent European security pillar could undermine NATO, as she put forth the three famous D's:
Our [...] task is working together to develop [the ESDI] within [NATO], which the United States has strongly endorsed. We enthusiastically support any such measures that enhance European capabilities. The United States welcomes a more capable European partner, with modern, flexible military forces capable of putting out fires in Europe's own back yard and working with us through [NATO] to defend our common interests. The key to a successful initiative is to focus on practical military capabilities. Any initiative must avoid preempting [NATO] decision-making by de-linking ESDI from NATO, avoid duplicating existing efforts, and avoid discriminating against non-EU members. [...]
As a direct consequence of the Saint-Malo summit, the EU formulated a "Headline Goal" in Helsinki in 1999, setting 2003 as a target date for the creation of a European force of up to 60,000 troops, and establishing a catalogue of forces, the 'Helsinki Force Catalogue', to be able to carry out the so-called "Petersberg Tasks".
The Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force in 1999, transferred the WEU's Petersberg tasks to the EU, and stated that the EU's European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), replacing the WEU's ESDI, would be 'progressively framed' on the basis of these tasks.
In June 1999, the
In 2000 and 2001 a number of ESDP bodies were established within the EU Council, including the Political and Security Committee (PSC), the Military Committee (EUMC) and the Military Staff (EUMS).
In 2002 the European Union Satellite Centre superseded the Western European Union Satellite Centre, and the 1996 Berlin agreement was amended with the so-called Berlin Plus agreement, which allowed the EU to also draw on some of NATO's assets in its own peacekeeping operations, subject to a "right of first refusal" in that NATO must first decline to intervene in a given crisis. Additionally, an agreement was signed on information sharing between the EU and NATO, and EU liaison cells were added at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and Joint Force Command (JFC) in Naples.
In 2003 the
It became clear that the objectives of the outlined in the Helsinki Headline Goal were not achievable quickly. In May 2004, EU defence ministers approved "Headline Goal 2010", extending the timelines for the EU's projects. However, it became clear that the objectives cannot be achieved by this date too. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé expressed his desperation: "The common security and defense policy of Europe? It is dead."[21][22]
In 2004 the European Defence Agency (EDA) was established to facilitate defence integration.
The Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue is a listing of rapid reaction forces composed of 60,000 troops managed by the European Union, but under control of the countries who deliver troops for it.[citation needed] In 2005 the EU Battlegroups (BG) initiative was operational as a result of the Helsinki Headline Goal process. Each battlegroup were to quickly be able to deploy about 1,500 personnel.[23]
Since the inception of the EU's European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in 1999 (renamed the
As of 2017, CSDP missions had the following ad hoc OHQ options, from which the Council would choose:
- OHQs offered by member states, e.g. Northwood Headquarters as made available by the United Kingdom
- Allied Command Operations (ACO) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), based on the Berlin Plus agreement
- European Union Operations Centre (EU OPCEN), a limited ad hoc headquarters outside the EEAS
2009 – 2015: Deeper cooperation enabled, WEU dissolved
Upon the entry into force of the
Comparison of mutual defence clauses:
Article 42.7 of the consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union:
"If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States. [...]"
Article V of the Modified Treaty of Brussels:
"If any of the High Contracting Parties should be the object of an armed attack in Europe, the other High Contracting Parties will, in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, afford the Party so attacked all the military and other aid and assistance in their power."
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty:
"The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them [on their territory] shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area. [...]"
2015 – present: New political impetus, structural integration
The mutual defence clause, Article 42.7, was invoked for the first time in November 2015 following the terrorist attacks in Paris, which were described by French President François Hollande as an attack against Europe as a whole.[24][25]
In 2016 HR/VP Federica Mogherini drew up a new security strategy, the European Union Global Strategy, which along with the Russian annexation of Crimea, the scheduled British withdrawal from the EU and the election of Donald Trump as US President have given the CSDP a new impetus.
This has given rise to a number of initiatives:
- Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO; 2017–)
- Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD; 2019-)
- European Defence Fund (EDF; 2017)
- Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC; 2017)
- Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (2019-)
The MPCC is a part of the External Action Service's Military Staff (EUMS) that constitutes the EU's first permanent operational headquarters. The Director General of the EUMS also serves as Director of the MPCC - exercising command and control over the operations within the MPCC's remit.
In wake of the
Timeline
Abbreviations:
- BG: battle group
- CARD: Coordinated Annual Review on Defence
- CFE: Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
- CFSP: Common Foreign and Security Policy
- CoE: Council of Europe
- CSDP: Common Security and Defence Policy
- EATC: European Air Transport Command
- EBCG: European Border and Coast Guard
- EC: European Communities (i.e. EEC, ECSC and EURATOM)
- EDF: European Defence Fund
- EEC: European Economic Community
- ECSC: European Coal and Steel Community
- EDA: European Defence Agency
- EDC: European Defence Community
- EEAS: European External Action Service
- EEC: European Economic Community
- EI2: European Intervention Initiative
- EPC: European Political Cooperation
- ERP: European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan)
- ESDI: European Security and Defence Identity
- EUMS: European Union Military Staff
- EUROCORPS: European Corps
- EUROFOR: European Rapid Operational Force
- EUROGENDFOR: European Gendarmerie Force
- EUROMARFOR: European Maritime Force
- ESDP: European Security and Defence Policy
- EU: European Union
- EURATOM: European Atomic Energy Community
- HHG: Helsinki Headline Goal
- HR-CFSP: High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy
- HR/VP: High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
- ISS: Institute for Security Studies
- MC: Military Committee
- MPCC: Military Planning and Conduct Capability
- NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
- OCCAR: Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation
- PESCO: Permanent Structured Cooperation
- SatCen: Satellite Centre
- UK: United Kingdom
- WEAG: Western European Armaments Group
- WEAO: Western European Armaments Organization
- WEU: Western European Union
- WU: Western Union
See also
- List of military and civilian missions of the European Union
- History of the Common Foreign and Security Policy
- History of the European Union
- Military history of Europe
- History of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Major CSDP offices:
- List of High Representatives
- List of Chairmen of the European Union Military Committee
- List of Directors General of the European Union Military Staff
History of military precursors of the European Union:
Other:
- Scandinavian defence union (proposed in the post-war period)
References
- ^ "Glossary of summaries - EUR-Lex".
- ^ "EU to spend €1.5bn a year on joint defence". 7 June 2017.
- ISBN 1-55750-562-4.
- ^ Hansard extract February 18, 1957
- ISBN 978-0-312-22402-8. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
- ^ "Did you know that Europe already had a defensive military alliance prior to NATO?". Allied Command Operations (ACO). NATO. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
- ISBN 978-0-7425-3917-4. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
- ^ "Brussels Treaty Organisation (Resolution)". Hansard. 565. London: House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 18 February 1957. cc19-20W. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
- ^ Results of the referendum on the Saar Statute CVCE
- ^ a b Rearmament and the European Defense Community Library of Congress Country Studies
- ^ https://www.coe.int/en/web/documents-records-archives-information/timeline-1948#{"19133186":[0]}
- ^ "BBC Politics 97".
- ^ https://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/2002/1/29/444f642c-62ed-4fd9-8136-a129d2de3783/publishable_en.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ EUROPA – Glossary – Petersberg tasks
- ^ NATO Ministerial Meetings Berlin – 3–4 June 1996
- ^ https://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/2008/3/31/f3cd16fb-fc37-4d52-936f-c8e9bc80f24f/publishable_en.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Franco–British St. Malo Declaration (4 December 1998)". 22 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
- ^ Adam. "The Saint-Malo Declaration and its impact on ESDP after 10 years - Defence Viewpoints from UK Defence Forum". www.defenceviewpoints.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
- ^ "12/8/98 Albright Statement to the North Atlantic Council".
- ^ "European security strategy", SCADPLUS, September 4, 2006
- ^ Meltem Mueftueler-Bac & Damla Cihangir, "The Transatlantic Relationship and the Future Global Governance", European Integration and Transatlantic Relations, (2012), p 12, www.iai.it/pdf/Transworld/TW_WP_05.pdf
- ^ "Presidency Conclusions. Helsinki European Council 10 and 11 December 1999". www.consilium.europa.eu. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
- ^ Council of the European Union (July 2009). "EU BATTLEGROUPS" (PDF). Europa web portal. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ^ Peter Spiegel in Brussels and Jim Brunsden in Paris (2015-11-16). "Hollande makes unusual appeal to EU collective defence article - FT.com". M.ft.com. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
- ^ Source: CNNAdded on 1418 GMT (2218 HKT) November 16, 2015 (2015-11-16). "Francois Hollande: 'France is at war' – CNN Video". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
{{cite web}}
:|author=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "EU agrees to give €500M in arms, aid to Ukrainian military in 'watershed' move". 27 February 2022.
- cnn.com. 1 June 2022.
- ^ "Denmark to join EU defence policy after historic vote". Al Jazeera. 1 June 2022.
External links
- Shaping of a Common Security and Defence Policy, European External Action Service
- Timeline: EU cooperation on security and defence, Council of the European Union
- The organisation of post-war defence in Europe (1948–1954), Virtual Centre for Knowledge on Europe
- History of European defence integration, European Defence Agency
- Chronology - Europe's long road in search of a common defence, Reuters
- Origins and development of the Western European Union, Virtual Centre for Knowledge on Europe