The European Security and Defence Identity is a term which was used to describe a European common defence and security policy in the 1990s, now effectively replaced by the European Security and Defence Policy. World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Jump to: navigation, search The European Security and Defence Policy or ESDP is considered a major element of the Common Foreign and Security Policy pillar of the European Union (EU). ...

Europe's first step towards a common foreign and security policy was contained in the Maastricht Treaty as the Common Foreign and Security Policy, under which signatories agreed.. The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993, under the Delors Commission. ... The Common Foreign and Security Policy or CFSP was established as the second of the three pillars of the European Union in the Maastricht treaty of 1992, and further defined and broadened in the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997. ...

"..to implement a common foreign and security policy including the progressive framing of a common defence policy, which might lead to a common defence..., thereby reinforcing the European identity and its independence in order to promote peace, security and progress in Europe and in the world"

At the 1996 NATO Summit in Berlin it was agreed that the ESDI would be carried out by the Western European Union (WEU) but structured within NATO and use NATO headquarters and assets, preventing duplication. Thus the ESDI became a "separable but not separate" part of NATO as promoted by the United States. Jump to: navigation, search 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Jump to: navigation, search The NATO flag NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D... Jump to: navigation, search Berlin â–¶(?), IPA: , is the capital of Germany and its largest city; the city is now home to 3. ... The flag of the Western European Union Not to be confused with the European Union (EU), the Western European Union (WEU) is a partially dormant European defence and security organization, established by the Brussels treaty of 1948 and composed of those states who were members of both NATO and the...

At the Anglo-French summit at Saint Malo in 1998 British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac shifted the focus of common defence and security away from the WEU to within the European Union. They stated that: ... View of the walled city Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northern France on the English Channel. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. ... Jump to: navigation, search Jacques René Chirac ▶(?), (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician. ...

"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".

At the 1999 Washington NATO summit it was agreed that the European Union itself would carry out "crisis management operations" using NATO assets and capabilities on a case-by-case basis as envisaged in 1996. In Helsinki in December 1999 European leaders agreed to strengthen European defence capabilites and establish the European Rapid Reaction Force. Jump to: navigation, search 1999(MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire (D) Senators Patty Murray (D) Maria Cantwell (D) Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... Jump to: navigation, search It has been suggested that Hietaniemi beach be merged into this article or section. ... Jump to: navigation, search The European Union Rapid Reaction Force is a transnational military force managed by the European Union itself rather than any of its member states. ...

References

• RAND Corporation
• www.nato.int