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). The ESDP was initiated by provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty which stipulated the progressive framing of a common security and defence policy that could deal with humanitarian and rescue, peacekeeping, peacemaking and combat forces crisis management tasks, called the Petersberg tasks. When the Cologne European Council in June 1999 appointed Javier Solana as the High representative of the CFSP they also declared that "the EU 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 without prejudice to actions by NATO 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. ... The Treaty of Maastricht which established the European Union, divided EU policies into three main areas, called pillars. ... Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts The Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, commonly known as the Amsterdam Treaty, was signed on... Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace. ... Crisis management involves identifying a crisis, planning a response to the crisis and confronting and resolving the crisis. ... The European Council met in Cologne on June 3-4 1999 to consider issues following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Javier Solana Dr Javier Solana Madariaga (born July 14, 1942 in Madrid, Spain) is the High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Secretary-General of both the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU). ...

European Security

The European Security Strategy is the policy document that guides the European Union's international security strategy, setting out its main priorities and identifying the main threats, such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflict, failed states, and organised crime. The strategy was published and agreed upon by EU leaders in December 2003. It was developed by Javier Solana, High Representative of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy. Terrorism is a controversial term with multiple definitions. ... Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are weapons designed to kill large numbers of people, typically targeting civilians and military personnel alike. ... Failed state is a controversial term intended to mean a weak state in which the central government has little practical control over much of its territory. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... Javier Solana Dr Javier Solana Madariaga (born July 14, 1942 in Madrid, Spain) is the High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Secretary-General of both the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU). ... 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. ...

European defence

The total spent by the 25 EU nations on defence is approximately €160 billion. On July 12, 2004 details of an EU defence agency were finalised. The 80 person agency will be headed by Javier Solana. It will provide political guidance to ensure greater efficiency in EU members military spending, liasing closely with NATO in the process. The grave accent ( ` ) is a diacritic mark used in written Greek until 1982 ( polytonic orthography), French, Catalan, Welsh, Italian, Vietnamese, Scottish Gaelic, Norwegian, Portuguese, and other languages. ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit 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.C., on April 4, 1949. ...

Petersberg tasks

The Petersberg tasks are the military tasks of a humanitarian, peacekeeping and peacemaking nature that the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU) are empowered to do. They were defined in June 1992 at the Hotel Petersburg near Bonn in Germany at a meeting of the Council of the WEU, where the member states agreed to deploy their troops and resources from across the whole spectrum of the military under the authority of the WEU. As a part of the partial merger of the WEU with the European Union these tasks now form a part of the European Security and Defence Policy, and are central to strengthening the European Union's second pillar, the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Humanitarianism is the view that all people should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings, and that advancing the well-being of humanity is a noble goal. ... Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace. ... Not to be confused with the European Union, the Western European Union (WEU) is said by some to be a partially dormant European defence and security organization composed of those states members of both NATO and the EU. Interestingly, however, New York Universitys published work (Holyworth and Jolyon) Defending... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bonn is a city in Germany (Population (2004 est): 313,605 ; the 19th largest city in Germany), in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine. ... 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. ...

Elements of the ESDP

• European Defence Agency
• European Rapid Reaction Force
• European Gendarmerie Force
• European Union battle groups
• European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) [1] (http://www.iss-eu.org/)

The following permanent political and military bodies were established after the approval of the Nice European Council. The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an agency under the Council of the European Union. ... The European Union Rapid Reaction Force is a transnational military force managed by the European Union itself rather than any of its member states. ... The European Gendarmerie Force or EGF was launched by an agreement between five members of the European Union (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands) and its purpose was the creation of a European intervention force which would have military police (gendarmerie) functions, and be specialized in crisis management. ... The European Union battle groups is a project done in the context of the European Security and Defense Policy, its aim being the creation of several rapidly deployable units for international intervention and tasks reaching up to full-combat situations. ... The European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) came into being on July 20, 2001 as a replacement to the Western European Union Institute for Security Studies, and thus represents a part of the transfer of functions from the Western European Union (WEU) to the European Union EU, and more...

• Political and Security Committee or PSC
• European Union Military Committee or EUMC
• European Union Military Staff or EUMS

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. ...

Constitution

The draft EU constitution declares that The Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe is a proposed constitutional treaty for the European Union. ...

The common security and defence policy shall include the progressive framing of a common Union defence policy. This will lead to a common defence, when the European Council, acting unanimously, so decides. It shall in that case recommend to the member States the adoption of such a decision in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.

The policy of the Union in accordance with this article shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain member states, which see their common defence realized in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, under the North Atlantic Treaty, and be compatible with the common security and defence policy established within that framework. (Art. 1-41 2)

Missions in the ESDP context

Operations launched by the EU in the ESDP context include:

Past Operations

• EUFOR Concordia: Launched 31 March 2003 in the Republic of Macedonia following the request of President Boris Trajkovski. This operation made use of NATO assets and capabilities.
• Operation Artemis: A military operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, conducted in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1484 of 30 May 2003, and adopted by the EU on 5 June 2003. The mission ended on 1 September 2003. This was the first time the EU conducted a military operation without NATO assistance. France was the "framework nation" and main contributor of forces.

March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official languages Macedonian2 Capital Skopje President Branko Crvenkovski Prime Minister Vlado Bučkovski Area  – Total  – % water Ranked 145th  25,713 km²  1. ... Boris (Kiril) Trajkovski (June 25, 1956 - February 26, 2004) (Борис Трајковски in Cyrillic) was a president of the Republic of Macedonia (1999 - 2004). ... The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit 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.C., on April 4, 1949. ... A United Nations Security Council Resolution is voted on by the fifteen members of the UN Security Council. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Current Operations

• European Union Police Mission or EUPM: Police mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina that started on 1 January 2003.
• EUPOL Proxima: More fully the European Union Police Mission in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, this operation was launched on 15 December 2003 and covered an initial period of one year.
• EUJUST Themis: More fully the EU Rule of Law Mission to Georgia, this mission was launched on 16 July 2004 for a foreseen duration of 12 months, and is designed to support the Georgian authorities in challenges to the criminal justice system and reform process.
• EUFOR Althea: This is a EU military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a transition from the NATO-led SFOR. Transfer of authority from SFOR to EUFOR happened on 2 December 2004.

European Union Police Mission is European Unions mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina that aids the local police organizations. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official languages Macedonian2 Capital Skopje President Branko Crvenkovski Prime Minister Vlado Bučkovski Area  – Total  – % water Ranked 145th  25,713 km²  1. ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: Organization stubs | Bosnia and Herzegovina ... The flag of NATO NATO 2002 Summit 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.C., on April 4, 1949. ... Categories: Historical stubs | History of Bosnia and Herzegovina ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Future Operations

• none currently planned

Predecessors of the ESDP

• European Defence Community: The EDC was a defence community proposed in the 1950s soon after the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community. The founding treaty failed to be ratified and the project was abandoned.
• Western European Union: The WEU was created after the failure of the EDC, an organisation composed of those states who were members of both NATO and EU. Partially dormant, its tasks have been in part transferred to the EU. It's not yet certain whether the WEU will remain an independent organisation or be eventually fully merged into the EU.

The European Defence Community (EDC) was a treaty signed in May 1952 by France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries in response to the American call for the rearmament of West Germany. ... The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was founded in 1951 (Treaty of Paris), by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to pool the steel and coal resources of its member-states, thus preventing another European war. ... Not to be confused with the European Union, the Western European Union (WEU) is said by some to be a partially dormant European defence and security organization composed of those states members of both NATO and the EU. Interestingly, however, New York Universitys published work (Holyworth and Jolyon) Defending...

See also

• Eurocorps
• European defence procurement
• OCCAR

Eurocorps is a force which consists of up to 60,000 soldiers drawn from the armies of France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain. ... History Modern European defence procurement is making a move from a traditional, postwar, United States sponsored effort towards a more independent and competitive capability. ... OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière dARmement) is a European organisation for coordinating the procurement of purchases of weapon systems by European countries. ...

External links

• European Defence (http://www.european-defence.co.uk/index.html) website
• Council of the EU (http://ue.eu.int/cms3_fo/showPage.ASP?id=266&lang=EN&mode=g)
• EU defence policy (http://www.cer.org.uk/defence/)
• Analysis of Policy (http://www.diplomatie.be/en/policy/policynotedetail.asp?TEXTID=2045)
• On the European Security Strategy (http://mandela.inwent.org/ef/military/matthiessen.htm)