Common Foreign and Security Policy

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. It superseded the European Political Cooperation.

Elements

The European Council defines the principles and general guidelines for the CFSP as well as common strategies to be implemented by the EU. On the basis of those guidelines the Council of Ministers adopts joint actions or common positions.

Related Topics:
European Council - Council of Ministers

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• Joint actions address specific situations where operation action by the EU is considered necessary and lay down the objectives, scope and means to be made available to the EU. They commit the member states.
• Common positions on the other hand, define the approach that the EU takes on a certain matter of geographical or thematic nature, and define in the abstract the general guidelines that the national policies of Member states must conform to.

The treaties indicate that the function of the High Representative for the CFSP is exercised by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, who assists the country holding the Presidency of the European Union in matters coming within the scope of the CFSP. When appropriate he conducts political dialogue with third parties, acting on behalf of the Council of Ministers, at the Request of the Presidency. The current High Representative for the CFSP is Javier Solana.

Related Topics:
Secretary-General - Council of Ministers - Presidency of the European Union - Javier Solana

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Since the Cologne European Council in 1999, the European Security and Defence Policy (or ESDP) has become a significant part of the CFSP.

Related Topics:
Cologne European Council - 1999 - European Security and Defence Policy

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Bodies of the European Union set up within the CFSP context include the following:

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• The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC)
• A 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 Union Institute for Security Studies ( EUISS)
• The European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC)