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Lorenzo Bianco

Cluj Napoca, 24th may 2011

EU: law, institutions, policies

Academic year 2010-2011

Foreign and Security Policy of the EU 

The roots of the European Union's foreign policy must be identified in “European political

cooperation” , established in 1970 to promote political integration between the Member States and

not just the economic one. The European political cooperation introduced an early form of

coordination between the foreign policies of the Member States, resulting in regular meetings and

consultations and-where possible-the elaboration of common positions, or the issue of joint

declarations.

Despite a gradual strengthening, European cooperation policy remained essentially unchanged until

the creation of the European Union. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty transformed the Europeaneconomic community in the European Union and the common foreign and security policy, which

envisaged a stronger cooperation that previously, to enable the EU to play a role in the world

commensurate with its weight and to efficiently manage geopolitical changes following the end of

the cold war.

In 1999 the Treaty of Amsterdam introduced some changes in CFSP, it created the figure of the

high representative for the common foreign and security policy and assigning the EU the possibility

to promote operations "peace-keeping".

With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, despite some changes, the CFSP continues to

operate according to the intergovernmental method, so the European Commission and the European

Parliament have very limited powers in this area. Aware of this constraint, the Union has introduced

more flexible voting procedures on CFSP decisions by allowing individual governments to abstain,

or by using majority voting, or by allowing a majority of countries to act on their own; but

unanimity is still required on decisions with military or defense implications.

The Treaty of Lisbon has introduced other changes, such as in particular the creation of European

external action service as the diplomatic and administrative apparatus that manages the common

foreign policy and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and security policy as a stable

figure; The High Representative, in conjunction with the President of the European Council, speakson behalf of the EU in agreed foreign policy matters and can have the task of articulating

ambiguous policy positions created by disagreements among member states. The Common Foreign

and Security Policy requires unanimity among the now 27 member states on the appropriate policy

to follow on any particular policy. On 1 December 2009, Catherine Ashton took over Javier

Solana's post as the High Representative, who has held the post since 1999.1 

CFSP/ESDP Bodies2 

There are a number of bodies set up within the context of the CFSP. Within the Council, there is the

Foreign Affairs Council  (FAC) configuration, essentially a meeting of   foreign ministers and the

1 Silvio FAGIOLO, L’idea dell’Europa nelle relazioni internazionali, Milano, Franco Angeli editore, 2009  

2 http://europa.eu/pol/cfsp/index_en.htm

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Political and Security Committee or PSC, which monitors the international situation in the areas

covered by the CFSP and contributes by delivering opinions to the Council of Ministers, either at its

request or its own initiative, and also monitors the implementation of agreed policies.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) encourages increase in defence capabilities, military

research and the establishment of a European internal market for military technology.

The European External Action Service  (EEAS) is a body established by the Lisbon Treaty to

implement the external policy of the European Union (EU). The EEAS comes under the authority of

the  High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. It assists the High

Representative in executing their mandates, as regards:

  conducting the EU‟s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including the Common

Security and Defence Policy (CSDP);

 the Presidency of the European Foreign Affairs Council;

  the Vice-Presidency of the Commission in the field of external relations.

The EEAS also assists the General Secretariat of the Council, the Commission and the diplomatic

services of the Member States, in order to ensure the coherency of European external action.

Finally, the EEAS supports the Commission in preparing and implementing programs and financial

instruments relating to EU external action.

The European Security and Defence College  is organised as a network bringing together

institutes, colleges, academies and universities dealing with security and defence policy issues,

including the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). The task of the ESDC is to

 provide training in the field of European Security and Defence Policy at the strategic level in order

to promote a common understanding of the ESDP among civilian and military personnel and to

disseminate best practice in this area.

Why establish a Common Foreign and Security Policy?3 

Foreign and security policy are two fundamental features of a country‟s sovereignty. Thus there has

 been reluctance to consider a transfer of powers, even in part, to this area which is not included inthe Rome Treaty. This reluctance, although completely understandable, was exacerbated by the

failure to establish a European Defence Community (EDC) in 1954. However, two historic

fundamental movements helped bring European foreign policies closer:

A natural consequence of developments brought about by European integration: 

European integration led to better mutual understanding and naturally enhanced Europe‟s common

economic and trade interests, but it also determined shared founding values of a democratic Europe.

It prompted European countries to consider bringing their foreign policies together on account of

stepped up exterior action of the European Economic Community (EEC) . And yet, criticism

3 http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/european-union_157/eu-in-the-world_1491/common-foreign-and-security-

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 persisted that Europe was an economic giant, but political dwarf. Growing interaction between

economic and trade issues and international policy reflected in the tendency to increasingly resort to

sanctions, played a role in this respect.

The influence of sweeping changes worldwide: 

The end of the cold war stepped up the process engaged since the beginnings of European

integration. The end of a bipolar world gave Europe the capacity for fresh initiative. It also made it

impossible to accept a status quo that was increasingly challenged by European public opinion. At

the same time, the EEC became greatly involved in stabilizing Eastern Europe. Last of all, it was

important for Europe to catch up politically in the face of the fears of U.S. withdrawal that emerged

at that time.

The outbreak of the crisis in the Balkans in 1990 was testimony to the already evident fact that for

Europe, working on Europe‟s political aspect was a matter of urgency. At the same time, the acquis

communautaire had to be strengthened in light of its planned and expected enlargements in order toavoid making Europe merely a free-trade zone.

The European Union: a global player? 

The violence of the two world wars that marked the first half of the twentieth century has given way

to a period of peace, stability and prosperity unprecedented in European history. The creation of the

European Union has been central to this development. European countries are now committed to

dealing peacefully with disputes and to cooperating through common institutions.

The United States has played a critical role in European integration and European security,especially through NATO. Now that the Cold War is over, it has become the single dominant

military power. However, no country is able to tackle today's complex problems on its own. As a

union of 27 states with a total population of over 450 million, the EU has inevitably become a

global player. It should therefore be ready to share in the responsibility for creating global security

and building a peaceful world.

The EU could be considered a key player in international issues ranging from global warming to the

conflict in the Middle East. The basis for the EU‟s common foreign and security policy (CFSP)

remains „soft‟ power  as explained on The European security strategy, drawn up under the authority

of the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, and

adopted by the Brussels European Council of 12 and 13 December 2003: such as building security

in the EU's neighborhoods and promoting an international order based on effective multilateralism,

the use of diplomacy - backed where necessary by trade, aid and peacekeepers - to resolve conflicts

and bring about international understanding.

The EU has sent peacekeeping missions to several of the world‟s trouble spots. In August 2008, the

EU brokered a ceasefire to end fighting between Georgia and Russia and deployed EU observers to

monitor the situation. It provided humanitarian aid to people displaced by the fighting and

organised an international donor conference for Georgia.

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The EU also has a leading role in the Balkans, where it is funding assistance projects in seven

countries to help them build stable societies. In Kosovo, the EU deployed a 1 900-strong justice and

 police force in December 2008 to help ensure law and order.

The EU has no standing army. Instead it relies on ad hoc forces contributed by EU countries for

 peacekeeping, crisis management and humanitarian missions. In order to respond quickly, the EU

has established battle groups of about 1 500 forces each. Two battle groups are on standby at any

given time. The principles behind these activities are known as the European Security and Defense

Policy (ESDP).

The first EU military missions were in the Balkans. The EU assumed command of the military

stabilization force in Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2005. Other short-term missions followed in Africa,

Asia and the Middle East.

In May 2007, the EU sent a police mission on a three-year assignment to Afghanistan, and in early

2008, an EU military force of more than 3 000 was stationed in border areas of Chad and theCentral African Republic to protect refugees displaced by fighting in the neighboring Darfur region

of Sudan.

In December 2008, the EU launched its first maritime operation. Its mission is to protect ships from

 pirates along the Somali coast, particularly ships delivering food aid to Somalia.4 

EU role in the recent Libyan crisis

On the 1th of April 2011 the Council adopted the decision for a European Union military operation

in support of humanitarian assistance operations in response to the crisis situation in Libya

("EUFOR Libya" operation). The decision provides that the EU will, like requested by the UN

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), conduct a military operation in the

framework of the Common security and defence policy (CSDP) in order to support humanitarian

assistance in the region.

The Libyan crisis could represent a case of school for any international and security intervention

 policy by the European Union, through the new diplomatic and operating instruments provided for

Treaty of Lisbon. Libya in fact is a "neighbors" countries of the EU, not only geographically, but

also for privileged relations with certain countries members of the EU, Italy the first, in the areas of

finance, trade and energy.

This should, in principle, early induce the EU to mobilize its political and diplomatic resources

when the uprising started, to ensure an effective mediation between the Government of Muammar

al-Gaddafi and the leader of the popular uprising. The main role should be entrusted to the High

Representative for Foreign Affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, with the support of the

new European diplomatic service and the representatives of the Governments closer to the Libyan

regime, including Italian Prime Minister. The EU would also have to ensure, through the

4 http://europa.eu/pol/cfsp/index_en.htm

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mechanisms of the CSDP, a timely operational contribution for the implementation of the

resolutions 1970 and 1973, adopted by the United Nations Security Council.

The situation in Libya and in the Mediterranean area could represent the first occasion for the

creation and the experimentation of the Common foreign and security policies, and underline how

the European Union, after its first international missions, has become a global player on the

international sphere.

However the European response has been weak and fragmented: Member States have made

independent choices and not shared, dictated or by internal political needs-in the case of Germany

and France--or by a prevailing interest in the transatlantic alliance- in the case of Britain-or for both

aspects-in the case of Italy. The European Union is finished to be the big defeated, due to a too

cautious attitude of its vertices, incapable of asserting the powers attributed by the treaties and take

timely policy initiatives, caused especially by an excessive protagonism of national leaders and

 political divergences of the member states . However a mission under EU mandate could be started

much earlier, thus, its small budget of 7.9 million euros is an evidence of the lack of trust by EU

Member States in the relevance of the mission. Once more the EU will launch a relatively small

operation, with limited role, and low political risks.

 Nato, instead, has assumed a leading role, intervening with an aerial and naval military mission,

named Operation Unified Protector. According to resolution 1973 of the United Nations Security

Council, the operation is trying to ensure the weapons embargo, the no-fly zone in the skies of

Libya and the protection of civilians. Intervention in Libya was mostly conducted by United States,

France and Britain which outlined new scenarios and a repositioning of the actors of global and

regional security. If the United Nations has confirmed to be the main source of legitimacy and vitalfor international crisis management, regional organizations directly concerned could play a role

much more incisive and effective. The EU has shown a substantial impotence to establish itself as a

credible actor in its immediate neighborhood.

The military operation in Libya was deeply supported by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The

outbreak of the Arab revolt has took unprepared France as many others international players. Paris,

however, had lost two bastions of its diplomatic strategy as Egypt and Tunisia, supporting the

Government of Ben Ali in the early moments of the uprising. The Libyan uprising has offered to

Sarkozy the chance to revive the French policy in the region and, together, to offer a new perception

in the Arab world: no longer a France compromised with the autocrats, but France in aid of theneeds of freedom and democracy now requests from Mediterranean populations

The Eliseo wanted not only a quick recognition of the Transitional National Council of Benghazi

 but also a strong role of France in this crisis. The history of Paris mixed relations with Tripoli and

limited French economic interests with the Gaddafi regime have favored this option.

On these motivations in favor of an intervention are added those related to domestic policy and the

need to raise up of the image of Sarkozy. The current uncertain situation in the conflict, however,

despite the imposition of a "no-fly zone plus" on Libya, put some doubt that the military

intervention in Libya may be the key to a French re-launching in the Mediterranean area.

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The initial French unilateralism was not devoid of negative political consequences, especially on the

relations with Germany and Italy, which does not have hidden disappointment for the lack of

coordination in Libya where the strategic interests are divergent. The action then has sanctioned the

final collapse of a European foreign and defense policy that it was already weak. On the same time

The United States are demonstrating their reluctance to be engaged on a new front and The Arab

League and the Arab world in General, after the initial favor, are against the increasing of military

action.

France seems to pay now the apparent improvisation with which has been prepared the intervention

and the evaluations of success after the Libyan revolt. Now the French President should

demonstrate the political and military capacity to handle the crisis. More problem it will be more

 partners, inside and outside Nato, will be ready to perceive this war less humanitarian and more

 promoted to French interests

France and Italy, Mediterranean powers, even in the key of development of the European Union's

foreign policy, should take the opportunity that the upspring in Mediterranean has gave.

Rediscovering the depth of their common interests, including the effectiveness of military action,

the defeat of Gaddafi, the safeguarding of the territorial integrity of Libya. Should, France and

Italy, have the same reaction that Germany had after the fall of the Berlin wall. Germany could

charging the costs of reunification, accepted huge numbers of refugee and immigrants from

neighboring countries and had an important role in the Balkan wars. France and Italy are expected

to push Europe to intervene for create a global dialogue, rebuild its role in the International sphere

and to encourage a reconciliation in accordance with democratic forms of representation.5 

But both France and Italy are creating a Europe incomprehensible and impersonal, ineffective, suchas to be perceived as a threat more than as a protection. The two powers are, in the Mediterranean

area, at the top regarding the export of weapons and the last for development aid. The Lybic crisis

could represent a great opportunity to pass the past of paternalism and colonialism.

For Europe is important now not waste the time and give a strong answer like has remembered the

President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano during the landings of migrants at Lampedusa

and in the midst of controversy with the European Union, that the international politic needs

Europe, a Europe that speaks with one single voice. Europe must not have a subordinate role respect

the national States  –   especially when dealing with extremely delicate issues like foreign policy,

security, immigration

Leaving behind the claims of national interest and particularism, the Libyan crisis would eventually

represent the starting point for the development of a common foreign policy of the European Union,

for the control of migration, defend Community preference in strategic sectors and especially for

the launch of the European security and the vision of the Europe as a true protagonist of

international politics.

As explained by Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, member of the executive board of the European Central

Bank, “Nobody said that the creation of a common EU foreign and security policy would be an easy

task. Historically, European integration has evolved thanks to crises. Europe is evolving, growing,

5 •Silvio FAGIOLO, “Le miopie di Roma e Parigi: un nuovo patto è possibile?”,

http://www.ispionline.it/it/documents/Commentary_Fagiolo_21.04.2011.pdf, 26 aprile 2011

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continuing on its path of integration. This is not happening, however, according to some pre-

defined, agreed plan, but rather in response to the challenges it faces, which in some cases are likely

to endanger the very existence of the Union.” Let‟s just hope for the best!

.

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Bibliography:

  Helen WALLACE, William WALLACE, Mark A. POLLACK , Policy-Making in the

 European Union, Oxford, Oxford University press, 2005.  Silvio  FAGIOLO,  L’idea dell’Europa nelle relazioni internazionali, Milano,

Franco Angeli editore, 2009

  Dirk VANDEWALLE, “To the Shores of Tripoli” , Foreign Affair , 21 march 2011

  Massimo NAVA, “ Neogollismo: se Nizza diventa più importante di Tripoli”,

http://www.ispionline.it/it/documents/Commentary_Nava_25.04.2011.pdf,25

aprile 2011.

  Silvio FAGIOLO, “Le miopie di Roma e Parigi: un nuovo patto è possibile?”,

http://www.ispionline.it/it/documents/Commentary_Fagiolo_21.04.2011.pdf,26 aprile 2011. 

  http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/european-union_157/eu-in-the-

world_1491/common-foreign-and-security-policy_5463/colonne-

droite_5464/more-information..._5465/background-of-the-cfsp-1969-

1999_8723.html

  http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/european-union_157/eu-in-the-

world_1491/common-foreign-and-security-policy_5463/index.html

 http://europa.eu/pol/cfsp/index_en.htm