Common Foreign and Security Policy

Common Foreign And Security Policy

Common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and the Treaties of the European Union

Description of Common foreign and security policy (CFSP) provided by the European Union Commission: The common foreign and security policy (CFSP) was established and is governed by Title V of the Treaty on European Union (EU). It replaced European Political Cooperation (EPC) and provides for the eventual framing of a common defence policy which might in time lead to a common defence. The objectives of this second pillar of the Union are set out in Article 11 of the EU Treaty and are to be attained through specific legal instruments (joint action, common position) which have to be adopted unanimously in the Council. With the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), the European Union also has a new instrument at its disposal – the common strategy. The Treaty of Amsterdam also provided for qualified majority voting under certain conditions and, since it was signed, the CFSP field has been developing in practice at every European Council.

The Treaty of Nice (2001) introduced the possibility, under certain conditions, of establishing closer cooperation in the CFSP field for the implementation of joint actions and common positions. This closer cooperation may not be used for matters with military or defence implications. The European Constitution, currently in the process of ratification, provides for the creation of the post of Foreign Affairs Minister whose role will consist in conducting the CFSP. The Minister will be assisted by a newly-created European External Action Service. The Constitution also provides for the transfer of the power of initiative in this area from the Commission to the new Minister.

Unanimity will remain the rule but the bridging mechanism may be used to switch to qualified majority voting in certain areas which have no military or defence implications. Once the Constitution has been ratified, the use of the legislative instruments under the CFSP will be excluded. The instruments of the CFSP will be restricted to European decisions and international agreements. Enhanced cooperation may also be introduced in any area of the CFSP and no longer only for the implementation of a joint action or a common position. Unanimity will, however, always be required.

Common Foreign and Security Policy (of the European Union)

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on common foreign and security policy (of the european union) explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and the Treaties of the European Union

Description of Common foreign and security policy (CFSP) provided by the European Union Commission: The common foreign and security policy (CFSP) was established and is governed by Title V of the Treaty on European Union (EU). It replaced European Political Cooperation (EPC) and provides for the eventual framing of a common defence policy which might in time lead to a common defence. The objectives of this second pillar of the Union are set out in Article 11 of the EU Treaty and are to be attained through specific legal instruments (joint action, common position) which have to be adopted unanimously in the Council. With the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), the European Union also has a new instrument at its disposal – the common strategy. The Treaty of Amsterdam also provided for qualified majority voting under certain conditions and, since it was signed, the CFSP field has been developing in practice at every European Council. The Treaty of Nice (2001) introduced the possibility, under certain conditions, of establishing closer cooperation in the CFSP field for the implementation of joint actions and common positions. This closer cooperation may not be used for matters with military or defence implications. The European Constitution, currently in the process of ratification, provides for the creation of the post of Foreign Affairs Minister whose role will consist in conducting the CFSP. The Minister will be assisted by a newly-created European External Action Service. The Constitution also provides for the transfer of the power of initiative in this area from the Commission to the new Minister. Unanimity will remain the rule but the bridging mechanism may be used to switch to qualified majority voting in certain areas which have no military or defence implications. Once the Constitution has been ratified, the use of the legislative instruments under the CFSP will be excluded. The instruments of the CFSP will be restricted to European decisions and international agreements. Enhanced cooperation may also be introduced in any area of the CFSP and no longer only for the implementation of a joint action or a common position. Unanimity will, however, always be required.

Common Foreign and Security Policy of European Union at the United Nations

Common Foreign and Security Policy, NATO and WEU and the European Union

Resources

See Also

  • CFSP
  • Defence policy

Further Reading

    • A concise encyclopedia of the United Nations (including Common Foreign and Security Policy , H Volger, KA Annan -2010)
    • The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations (TG Weiss – 2007)
    • International Law: A Dictionary (including Common Foreign and Security Policy , Boczek, Boleslaw Adam -2005)
    • The entry “common foreign and security policy (of the european union)” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press
    • Adler-Nissen, R. (2014). Symbolic power in European diplomacy: The struggle between national foreign services and the EU’s External Action Service. Review of International Studies, 40(4), 657–681.
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    • Allen, D., & Smith, M. (1990). Western Europe’s presence in the contemporary international arena. Review of International Studies, 16(1), 19–37.
    • Balfour, R., & Raik, K. (2013). Equipping the European Union for the 21st century: National diplomacies, the European External Action Service and the making of EU foreign policy. Helsinki: Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
    • Batora, J., & Spence, D. (Eds). (2015). The European External Action Service: European diplomacy post-Westphalia. Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
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    • Dijkstra, H. (2013). Policy-making in EU security and defense: An institutional perspective. Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
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    • European External Action Service. (2016). EU global strategy. Retrieved from https://eeas.europa.eu/top_stories/pdf/eugs_review_web.pdf.
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    • Henökl, T., & Trondal, J. (2015). Unveiling the anatomy of autonomy: Dissecting actor-level independence in the European External Action Service. Journal of European Public Policy, 22(10), 1426–1447.
    • Hill, C., & Smith, M. (Eds.). (2011). International relations and the European Union (2d ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    • Hill, C., & Wong, R. (2011). Many actors, one path? The meaning of Europeanization in the context of foreign policy. In R. Wong & C. Hill (Eds.), National and European foreign policies. Towards Europeanization (pp. 210–232). London: Routledge.
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    • Juncos, A., & Pomorska, K. (2011). Invisible and unaccountable? National Representatives and Council Officials in EU foreign policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 18(8), 1096–1114.
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    • Keukeleire, S. (2003). The European Union as a diplomatic actor: Internal, traditional and structural diplomacy. Diplomacy and Statecraft, 14(3), 31–56.
    • Keukeleire, S., & Delreux, T. (2014). The foreign policy of the European Union (2d ed.). Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave.
    • Manners, I. (2002). Normative power Europe: A contradiction in terms? Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(2), 235–258.
    • Manners, I., & Whitman, R. (Eds.). (2000). The foreign policies of European Union member states. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
    • Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet, G., & Rüger, C. (Eds.). (2011). The High Representative for the EU foreign and security policy—review and prospects. Baden-Baden, Germany: Nomos Verlag.
    • Musu, C. (2003). European foreign policy: A collective policy or a policy of “converging parallels”? European Foreign Affairs Review, 8(1), 35–49.
    • Nicolaïdis, K., & Whitman, R. (Eds.). (2013). Normative power Europe [Special issue]. Cooperation and Conflict, 48(2).
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    • Nuttall, S. (2000). European foreign policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    • Pomorska, K. (2007). The impact of enlargement: Europeanisation of Polish Foreign Policy? Tracking adaptation and change in Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 2(1), 25–51.
    • Sjöstedt, G. (1977). The external role of the European Community. Farnborough, U.K.: Saxon House.
    • Sjursen, H. (2006). The EU as “normative” Power: How can this be? Journal of European Public Policy, 13(2), 235–251.
    • Smith, K. (2014). European Union foreign policy in a changing world. London: Polity Press.
    • Smith, M. E. (2004). Europe’s foreign and security policy: The institutionalization of cooperation. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
    • Smith, M., Keukeleire, S., & Vanhoonacker, S. (Eds.). (2016). The diplomatic system of the European Union: Evolution, change and challenges. London: Routledge.
    • Spence, D. (2016). The European Commission’s External Service. In M. Smith, S. Keukeleire, & S. Vanhoonacker (Eds.), The diplomatic system of the European Union: Evolution, change and challenges (pp. 29–45). London: Routledge.
    • Tonra, B. (2001). The Europeanisation of national foreign policy: Dutch, Danish and Irish foreign policy in the European Union. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate.
    • Vanhoonacker, S., & Pomorska, K. (2013). The European External Action Service and agenda-setting in European foreign policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 20(9), 1316–1331.
    • Vink, M., & Graziano, P. (2006). Challenges of a new research agenda. In P. Graziano & M. Vink (Eds.), Europeanization: New research agendas (pp. 3–22). Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Wagner, W. (2003). Why the EU’s common foreign and security policy will remain intergovernmental: A rationalist institutionalist choice analysis of European crisis management policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 10(1), 160–194.
    • Wallace, H., & Reh, C. (2015). An institutional anatomy and five policy modes. In H. Wallace, M. Pollack, & A. Young (Eds.), Policy-making in the European Union (7th ed., pp. 72–112). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    • Waltz, K. (1979). Theory of international politics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
    • Wong, R. (2011). The Europeanization of foreign policy. In C. Hill & M. Smith (Eds.), International relations and the European Union (2d ed., pp. 149–170.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    • Wong, R., & Hill, C. (Eds.). (2011). National and European Foreign Policies: Towards Europeanization. London: Routledge.

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Hierarchical Display of Common foreign and security policy

European Union > European construction > European Union
European Union > EU institutions and European civil service > EU body > European External Action Service
International Organisations > European organisations > European organisation > Western European Union
International Relations > International security > International security > Non-proliferation of arms
International Relations > International security > International security > European security
International Relations > International security > Foreign policy
European Union > EU institutions and European civil service > EU body > European External Action Service > High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
International Organisations > World organisations > World organisation > NATO
European Union > European Union law > Intergovernmental legal instrument > Joint action
European Union > European Union law > Intergovernmental legal instrument > Common position
European Union > European Union law > Intergovernmental legal instrument > Common strategy

Common foreign and security policy

Concept of Common foreign and security policy

See the dictionary definition of Common foreign and security policy.

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Translation of Common foreign and security policy

Thesaurus of Common foreign and security policy

European Union > European construction > European Union > Common foreign and security policy
European Union > EU institutions and European civil service > EU body > European External Action Service > Common foreign and security policy
International Organisations > European organisations > European organisation > Western European Union > Common foreign and security policy
International Relations > International security > International security > Non-proliferation of arms > Common foreign and security policy
International Relations > International security > International security > European security > Common foreign and security policy
International Relations > International security > Foreign policy > Common foreign and security policy
European Union > EU institutions and European civil service > EU body > European External Action Service > High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy > Common foreign and security policy
International Organisations > World organisations > World organisation > NATO > Common foreign and security policy
European Union > European Union law > Intergovernmental legal instrument > Joint action > Common foreign and security policy
European Union > European Union law > Intergovernmental legal instrument > Common position > Common foreign and security policy
European Union > European Union law > Intergovernmental legal instrument > Common strategy > Common foreign and security policy

See also

  • European foreign policy
  • Common foreign policy
  • Common security policy
  • CFSP