Publication

The European Union and its member states have made rapid progress towards the development of a common European security and defense policy (ESDP) since the Anglo-French declaration at St. Malo in 1998. The transformation of the St. Malo declaration into a European process represents a milestone in the history of European integration, for the first time bringing defense within the scope of EU policy coordination. But despite the tremendous speed at which advances in this field have taken place, there remain a number of open questions to the ESDP's political structure, force capabilities, and mission profile that threaten to cast a shadow over the EU's capacity to create a credible military force with which to reinforce its autonomy in the area of crisis management. This volume attempts to chart the progress, problems, and prospects of this ambitious yet highly contentions venture.