Global and regional crises and challenges, coupled with
developments within the EU, have made new demands on the EU's
external activities. Therefore it was decided to develop a Common
and Foreign Security Policy (CFSP) for the European Union. The
contents of this policy and the tools used to implement it are
detailed in this website.
The European Union
can organise peace-keeping
actions in troubled areas
- Background
- How the CFSP works
- The role of the
Commission in the CFSP process
- External
representation and the role of the Troika
- Other Institutional
roles in the CFSP process
- Conclusion
1. Background
The CFSP was established as the second pillar of the European
Union in the 1993
Treaty
on European Union signed at Maastricht. A number of
important changes were introduced in the Amsterdam
Treaty which came into force in 1999, and since then there
have been numerous developments in CFSP. It has been agreed to
embark on a common security and defence policy (CESDP) within the
overall framework of the CFSP. Work has continued apace. The European
Council at Laeken of 14-15 December 2001 adopted a
declaration on the operational capability of the ESDP, officially
recognising that the Union is now capable of conducting some
crisis management operations. Interim structures established after
the Amsterdam treaty have become permanent. With the
Nice
Treaty , certain amendments to the CFSP provisions of the
treaty were agreed. All these developments are described in more
detail below.
2. How the CFSP works
The Amsterdam Treaty spells out five fundamental objectives of
CFSP:
- to safeguard the common values, fundamental interests,
independence and integrity of the Union in conformity with the
principle of the United
Nations Charter ;
- to strengthen the security of the Union in all ways;
- to preserve peace and strengthen international security, in
accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter,
as well as the principle of the
Helsinki
Final Act and the objectives of the
Paris
Charter , including those on external borders
- to promote international co-operation;
- to develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law,
and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The treaty also identifies several ways in which these
objectives are to be pursued:
- defining the principles and general guidelines for the
common foreign and security policy, which is done by the European
Council ;
- deciding on common strategies. These instruments were
introduced by the Amsterdam Treaty and set out overall policy
guidelines for activities with individual countries. Each
strategy specifies its objectives, its duration and the
resources that will have to be provided by the EU and the
Member States. So far there are Common strategies on Russia,
Ukraine, Mediterranean and the Middle East Peace Process. They
too are decided by the European Council .
- adopting joint actions and common positions. These commit
the Member States to adopting a certain position and a certain
course of action. They are decided by the General
Affairs Council .
Additionally, mechanisms for regular political dialogue with a
whole range of third countries have been set up, usually with
troika meetings at ministerial, senior officials and working group
level, summits and in some cases, meetings with all Member States
and the Commission at ministerial or senior officials level.
Outside these regular mechanisms, the EU maintains a political
presence, particularly in areas of crisis or conflict. Special
Representatives have been appointed to the Great Lakes
(Africa), Middle East, Stability Pact, Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Ethiopia/Eritrea and Afghanistan. These
Special Representatives provide a direct link to
developments in these areas and allow the EU to have an active
involvement in the search for lasting solutions.
3. The Role of the Commission in the
CFSP process
The Commission is fully associated with the work carried out in
the field of CFSP. The Commission may, as any Member State, refer
to the Council any question relating to CFSP and may submit
proposals to the Council - although it does not have the sole
right to do so as in Community matters. The Commission may also,
as any Member State, request the Presidency to convene an
extraordinary Council meeting and make suggestions to the Policy
Unit for work to be undertaken. The Commission also implements the
CFSP budget (under the EC budget) including through appropriate
financial proposals.
The Commission is fully associated with the development of
CESDP, and participates and contributes accordingly, on the basis
of the competences assigned to it by the Treaty.
The Commission is solely responsible for a number of external
policies of the EU, such as trade. It also has sole responsibility
for Community actions in the areas of humanitarian, development
assistance, rehabilitation and reconstruction and sanctions
regulations( more information: Civilian Crisis Management).
The Council and the Commission are jointly responsible for
ensuring consistency of EU external activities as a whole, in the
context of its external relations, security, economic and
development policies.
4. External representation and the role
of the Troika
While external representation in the Community sphere falls on
the Commission delegations, in the CFSP sphere it falls mainly on
the Presidency of the Council, operating through the local
ambassador of the country holding the Presidency. Commission
delegations, together with representatives of the future
Presidency, are fully associated with the Presidency as part of a
'local troika', carrying out démarches to third countries and
establishing joint Heads of Mission reports on political
developments. As the network
of Commission delegations is wider than the foreign
embassy system of many of the Member States, they will sometimes
be the sole representative of the EU in a country and in these
cases their representative role for the EU as a whole increases.
The Community role in the representation of European interests
outside the EU has seen considerable development in recent years.
The Treaty expressly assigns the Community external powers
affecting the following areas: trade policy, associate countries
and overseas territories, relations with other international
organisations, research and technical development, environment
policy, education, vocational training and youth, culture, public
health, trans-European networks, economic and monetary union and,
finally, development co-operation. In these areas, the Community,
either exclusively or in tandem with the Member States, exercises
a very wide and varied spread of external powers, mainly but not
exclusively economic in nature.
5. Other Institutional roles in the CFSP
process
There are a number of different bodies/actors involved in the
elaboration and implementation of CFSP:
- The European
Council
- Heads of state and government and the Commission
President meet at least once every half year (i.e. at least
once per Presidency) to set priorities and give broad
guidelines for EU policies, including CFSP. The European
Council lays down the principles and general guidelines for
the CFSP, and adopts common strategies.
- The Council
of Ministers - EU Foreign Ministers and the
Commission External Relations Commissioner meet as the General
Affairs Council at least once a month. They decide on external
relations issues, including CFSP. This consultation on
external policy leads to joint actions and common positions ,
whose political implementation is mainly incumbent on the
Presidency. The budgetary execution and implementation of
Joint Actions is ensured by the European Commission.
- The Presidency
of the Council plays a vital part in the
organisation of the work of the institution, notably as the
driving force in the legislative and political decision-making
process. It organises and chairs all meetings and works out
compromises capable of resolving difficulties. This is a key
role in CFSP, where decisions are taken by unanimity. The
Council is presided over for a period of six months by each
Member State in turn, in accordance with a pre-established
rota. The Presidency is assisted by the Council Secretariat
and, since Amsterdam, the Secretary-General/High
Representative.
- The European
Parliament is kept regularly informed and
consulted on the broad orientation and choices in this area.
Amsterdam introduced new structures/roles:
- The High
Representative - The Amsterdam Treaty introduced
the new office of a High Representative (HR) for CFSP. The
office is fused with that of Council Secretary General. The HR
"shall assist the Council in matters coming within the
scope of the CFSP, in particular through contributing to the
formulation, preparation and implementation of policy
decisions, and, when appropriate and acting on behalf of the
Council at the request of the Presidency, through conducting
political dialogue with third countries". The HR assists
the Presidency in the external representation of the EU and
assists the Council in the implementation of policy decisions
in CFSP matters. Mr Javier Solana was appointed as first HR
and took office on 18 October 1999.
- A Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit has been set
up within the Council Secretariat. Its mandate includes
monitoring, analysis and assessment of international
developments and events, including early warning on potential
crises. It drafts policy options, which may contain
recommendations and strategies for presentation to the Council
under the responsibility of the Presidency. The Commission
seconds one member of the Policy Unit staff. The High
Representative is also assisted by the Council Secretariat.
Structure at officials' level
- The Committee of Permanent Representatives (known as
'Coreper') - Ambassadors of EU Member States to the EU and the
Commission Deputy Secretary General meet at least once a week
to prepare Council meetings and decisions, including those
related to the General Affairs Council and CFSP.
- The Political and Security Committee (PSC, or COPS as
it is known by its French acronym) is the lynchpin of the CFSP
and the ESDP. Pending the ratification of the Nice Treaty,
which definitively amalgamates the functions of the Political
Committee set out in art 25 of the Treaty and the PSC, there
is also the possibility of convening the PSC at Political
Director level. The PSC has a central role to play in the
definition of and follow-up to the EU's response to a crisis.
It is composed of national representatives at
senior/ambassador level, placed within the framework of Member
States' Permanent Representations. The Commission is fully
associated with the work of the PSC, through its own
representative.
The PSC prepares recommendations on the future functioning of
the CFSP, including CESDP and deals with the day-to-day running
of these issues, including preparation of CFSP aspects of the
deliberations of the General Affairs Councils. Furthermore, in
the event of a crisis, the PSC is the Council body which deals
with crisis situations and examines all the options that might
be considered as the Union's response within the single
institutional framework and without prejudice to the
decision-making and implementation procedures of each pillar.
- A network of European Correspondents in all EU Member
States and the Commission coordinate daily CFSP business and
prepare the meetings of the PSC and the CFSP points of the
General Affairs Council and the European Council. They
maintain day-to-day contact on CFSP issues via the Coreu (Correspondance
européenne) telex network which allows for an ongoing
exchange of encrypted messages among Member States, the
Secretariat and the Commission.
- The group of Relex Counsellors examines
institutional, legal and financial aspects of proposals made
within the CFSP. It prepares the work of Coreper on Joint
Actions and it ensures the inter-pillar consistency. The
European Commission is an active member of this group.
- CFSP Working Groups composed of experts from EU
Member States and the Commission meeting along geographical
(e.g. Asia, Africa, Latin America) and functional (UN issues,
drugs, terrorism) lines to elaborate policy documents and
options for the consideration of CFSP bodies.
The following new committees have moreover been established
within the Council to enhance the implementation of the CFSP:
- The European Union Military Committee (EUMC) is
composed of the Chiefs of Defence represented by their
military representatives. The EUMC is responsible for
providing the PSC with military advice and recommendations on
all military matters within the EU. It exercises military
direction of all military activities within the EU framework,
including the European Union Military Staff. The Chairman of
the EUMC attends meetings of the Council when decisions with
defence implications are to be taken.
- The European Union Military Staff (EUMS) within the
Council structures provides military expertise and support to
the CESDP, including the conduct of EU-led military crisis
management operations. It performs early warning, situation
assessment and strategic planning for Petersberg tasks
including identification of European national and
multinational forces and implementation of policies and
decisions as directed by the EUMC.
- The Politico-Military Group examines the
politico-military aspects of all proposals within the
framework of the CFSP.
- The Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management
gives advice on the political aspects of non-military crisis
management, conflict prevention etc. It has given priority in
its work to implementing the specific target for policing. It
has dealt with strengthening the rule of law, with a view to
setting specific targets in that area.
6. Conclusion
There are two broad contributions of the Commission to CFSP.
First, the Commission plays a treaty-specific role in CFSP. The
Treaty requires that the Commission be "fully
associated" with the CFSP work, where it enjoys, along with
Member States, a right of policy initiative, manages the CFSP
budget line and brings to the CFSP debate the EC policy areas
where it has a clearly defined role. Second, there is the
Commission's role as external representative in all the European
Community areas - this involves the Commission both in policy
formulation in Brussels, and in the representation of EC interests
throughout the world by means of its extensive network of
delegations. The Commission is moreover tasked, with the Council,
to ensure the consistency of the Union's external activities in
the context of external relations, security, economic and
development policies.
In sum, the CFSP provides an exciting dimension to the overall
work of the EU. The institutions of the EU, including the
Commission, are now involved in most of the traditional fields of
international diplomacy. The entry into force of the Treaty of
Nice and the development of the European Security and Defence
Policy will provide opportunities for further development of this
field of European policy.
Latest update: February 2002
See also
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