European Security and Defence Policy

The European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) is considered a major element of the CFSP. The ESDP was initiated by provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam which stipulated the progressive framing of a common security and defence policy that could deal with humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking. These are the so-called Petersberg tasks. These tasks are included into the Treaty of the European Union since 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam under Article 17.2.

The ESDP is facilitated by three separate institutions that shall provide a certain degree of continuity in the strictly intergovernmental field of CFSP. These three institutions are the Political and Security Committee (PSC), the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), and the European Union Military Staff (EUMS). All three institutions were established in the Intergovernmental Conference of Cologne in June 1999. Next to the respective Operational Headquarters, these institutions will, among other tasks, be responsible to handle the daily business of every European Battlegroup.

The European Battlegroup Concept in turn was drafted in late 2003 on a British-French summit meeting and was instantly endorsed by Germany. The Battlegroup Concept was submitted to the PSC and was subsequently presented as a joint initiative of the EU-3 (France, Germany, United Kingdom).

The Political and Security Committee (PSC or "COPS" from its French acronym) was first established as an interim body in 2000 is described by the Nice European Council Conclusions as the "linchpin" of the European Security and Defence Policy and the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Its responsibilities include the drafting of opinions for the General Affairs and External Relations Council which is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union, and exercising "political control and strategic direction" of EU crisis-management operations. The committee is a standing body and is composed of national representatives of "senior / ambassadorial level" and meets at least twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) in Brussels. It is chaired by the member state that holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The CFSP can be considered the outgrowth and replacement of the European Political Cooperation which had been formally established in the Single European Act (in effect since 1987), and informally introduced already from 1970 in response to the Davignon report. In the 1950s an even earlier attempt at political cooperation through the European Political Community had failed to be launched.

According to the European Constitution that has not been ratified yet, the pillar structure would have been abandoned: this means that the functions currently considered part of the CFSP will be further incorporated into the functions of the rest of the Union. It would not however be a true merging the pillars, as CFSP competences are still mentioned separately from the other EU competences in Article I-12. As part of merging the EC and EU treaties, among other things, the post of the High Representative of the CFSP will be merged with the post of the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, creating the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs who will be at the same time Vice-President of the Commission.