History of CSDP

Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), formerly known as the European Security and Defence Policy, is an instrument of the European Union’s (EU) Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

Despite previous, much earlier attempts to agree on common approach to European defence, Common Security and Defence Policy received additional impetus only in late 1990s in both NATO and the EU. The predecessor of the CSDP, NATO’s European security and defence identity was developed by the Alliance to promote Europe’s contribution to development of defence capabilities, whereas Western European Union, transferred to the EU in 1999, provided the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy capabilities through which member states can express their interests more actively.

As Maastricht Agreement was signed in 1992, EU member states pledged to gradually work towards common defence policy, while the Western European Union maintained its powers as EU’s security and defence decision-making and implementing arm for the time being.

EU member states decided to take the so-called Petersberg tasks (humanitarian and rescue tasks, peace-keeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peace-making) over from the Western European Union in 1997, incorporating them into the Amsterdam Treaty.

At the June 1999 European Council meeting in Cologne (Germany), EU heads of state and government agreed that ‘the Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, without prejudice to actions by NATO’. Building of such capacity at the EU level required a structured framework (see "CSDP structure") and crisis management capacity.

EU Cologne summit decisions were aligned with outcomes of the NATO Washington Summit of April 1999. Allies in NATO were in favour of stronger European security and defence policy, underlining that capacity for autonomous action will allow the EU to take the decisions whenever deemed necessary and send military forces to crisis management operations, making the European pillar of NATO stronger.

Following the decisions of the European Council meeting in Cologne, December 1999 EU summit in Helsinki issued conclusions that confirmed the willingness of EU member states to cooperate on the development of military capabilities, while also building civilian crisis management capacity and civil-military resource coordination during operations.

EU aimed to establish itself as a notable global player who plays active security role not only in Europe but also elsewhere in the world. The ambition was described in the European security strategy Secure Europe in a Better World adopted on 12 December 2003. It became the first security strategy collectively adopted by the EU member states, and it provided joint guidelines for EU’s development in the area of security and defence. According to decision of the European Council of 14 December 2007, a  Progress Report on the Implementation of the EU Security Union Strategy was completed by the end of 2008. Report assessed whether the 2003 strategy is up to date with the security situation and concluded that Strategy’s main elements and objectives must remain at the core of defence cooperation between EU member states.

The Lisbon (Reform) Treaty, which came to force on 1 December 2009, further enhanced the CSDP cooperation between member states.

Lisbon Treaty gave legitimacy to the already undertaken CSDP institutional reform, proposing additional changes. For example, Treaty gave legal framework for European Defence Agency established in 2004. It also called for the establishment of European External Action Service. Service is responsible for European Commission’s and EU Council’s external relations, and is thus also responsible for common (civilian-military) crisis management approach. It is led by High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy who is also a vice-president of the Commission. Catherine Ashton was the High Representative approved on 4 December 2009. Federica Mogherini served in this position from 1 November 2014 until 30 November 2019, and Josep Borrell became the latest High Representative on 1 December 2019.