Topics 12 & 14. The EU as an international political actor (EPC & Common Foreign and Security Policy)

Question 1

European Political Cooperation

Answer 1

The EPC was introduced in 1970 + was the synonym for European Union foreign policy coordination until it was superseded by the Common Foreign + Security Policy in the Maastricht Treaty of 1993

• EPC is conceived at The Hague Summit (1969), formally created by Davignon Report (1970) and its main institution (European Council) is created in 74.
• EPC as a mechanism of diplomatic agreement:
  
  • Davignon Report, 1970 (cooperation)
  • Copenhagen Report, 1973 (concertation).
  • London Report, 1981 (coordination)

The EPC was amended and strengthened in the Copenhagen report (1973) + London report (1981). It was codified (formalized) with the Single European Act (1986).

Question 2

Common Security and Defence Policy

Answer 2

The CSDP is the EU’s course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU’s CFSP

• EU-WEU-NATO relations
• Petersberg tasks
• CSDP development

Question 3

Common Foreign and Security Policy

Answer 3

The CFSP is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the EU for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions.

The ESDP aims to strengthen the EU’s external ability to act through the development of civilian + military capabilities in Conflict Prevention + Crisis Management.

Question 4

Luxembourg Report (Davignon) (1970)

Answer 4

L/D report created an informal intergovernmental consultation mechanism where member states could achieve “politics of scale”

Heads of State Summit in Luxembourg in which FA ministers present the conclusions of Davignon Report:
Origins European Political Cooperation. 3 goals:
* Community of information
* Community of vision
* Community of action
Intergovernmental cooperation:
* FA ministers’ meetings
* Political Committee
* Working Groups
* Linkage with Communitarian institutions (“passive coherence”)

Question 5

Copenhagen Report (1973)

Answer 5

• 1973: FA Ministers of the Nine meet in Copenhagen to present a second report about EPC.
  
  • Need to strengthen the agreement in FA topics
  • The embassies of the MS are associated to EPC
  • COREU within each FA Ministry
  • 3 first Working Groups: Middle East, Mediterranean + Asia.

Question 6

Paris Summit (1974)

Answer 6

• Heads of State Summit in Paris in which they decide to formalize their meetings as European Council:
  
  • Regular meetings
  • Same MS holding 2 presidencies (European Council + EC Council of Ministers)
  • To provide a political thrust to the EC

Question 7

London Report (1981)

Answer 7

• FA Ministers of the 10 meet in London to present a third report about EPC.
  
  • Need for a flexible and pragmatic approach
  • Need to consult with the rest of MS
  • Introducing Gymnich-type meetings
  • Creation of the Troika as well as a small Secretariat

“At present most of the efforts of political cooperation are devoted to reacting to world events as they occur. In future the Political Committee may wish to take a longer-term approach to certain problems, and to institute studies to that end”.

Question 8

The EPC at the SEA (1987)

Answer 8

Single European Act
* institutionalised the EPC that had been carried out since 1976, codified previous EPC practices and established a small permanent secretariat in Brussels to assist the Presidency of the Community.

• set the objective of a European foreign policy, extending it to include the political and economic aspects of security but excluding the area of defence.
  Europe’s independence and the defence of democratic principles and human rights were referred to explicitly as being objectives of European Political Cooperation.

Question 9

EPC structure

Answer 9

Structure: EPC mechanism with 5 levels: 1) European Council; 2) FA Ministerial meetings; 3) Political Committee; 4) Working Groups; 5) Coreu

Question 10

EPC Goals

Answer 10

Community of information
Community of vision
Community of action

Question 11

EPC - tools

Answer 11

• Declaratory diplomacy (declarations + “démarches”)
• Positive/negative structure of financial incentives through EEC
• No military tools

Question 12

CFSP and Amsterdam Treaty (97)

Answer 12

The EU shall pursue its objectives in CFSP by:
* Defining the principles of + general guidelines for the CFSP
* Deciding on common strategies
* Adopting join actions & common positions
* Strengthening systematic cooperation between MS
Decision-making process (base: unanimity): constructive abstention / Qualified Majority Voting

Question 13

Petersberg Tasks

Answer 13

These tasks were set out in the Petersberg Declaration adopted at the Ministerial Council of the WEU in 1992. On that occasion, the WEU member countries declared their readiness to make available to the WEU, but also to NATO and the EU, military units from the whole spectrum of their conventional armed forces.

From then on, they have covered:

 * humanitarian and rescue tasks;
 * conflict prevention and peace-keeping tasks;
 * tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking;
 * post-conflict stabilisation tasks

Question 14

CFSP and the Nice Treaty

Answer 14

Nice Treaty:

* ESDP is officially included at the Treaty
* EU undertakes the Petersberg tasks 
* Political Committee is substituted by a Political and Security Committee (PSC)

Question 15

CFSP and the Lisbon Treaty

Answer 15

Lisbon Treaty:

* Pillars structure is eliminated and CFSP is part of the EU, but “under specific norms and processes”
* Creation figure High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
* Creation European External Action Service (EEAS)
* President of European Council external representation

Question 16

CFSP tools

Answer 16

EU External Action uses 3 kinds of tools

• Diplomatic (Treaty on the European Union)
  * Positions (TEU): more systematic cooperation between MS; sanctions
  * Actions (TUE): coordinated action of MS that implies the use of different resources, including Special Representatives
  * Decisions (“arrangement for implementation”)
  * Declarations (through High Representative)
  * Démarches
• Economics (economic negative + positive structures, including the signature of partnership & cooperation agreements: Treaty on the Functioning of the EU [TFUE])
• Military (CSDP)

Question 17

EU Strategic Partnerships

Answer 17

The EU maintains strategic partnerships with up to 10 countries:

* Brazil
* Canadá
* China
* South Korea
* USA
* India
* Japan
* Mexico
* Russia
* South Africa