Why has it been difficult to develop an effective EU foreign and security policy?
Member states have, to a greater or lesser extent, been deeply reluctant to cede control of foreign and defence policy to the EU. This is primarily because control over military and diplomatic affairs is usually considered fundamental to the independence and identity of a state, the practical expression of its sovereignty. Co-operation in matters of foreign affairs and defence is therefore politically more sensitive than co-operation in matters such as the economy and trade. This reluctance is reflected in the fact foreign and defence matters continue to be protected by the national veto.
• Co-operation in foreign and security matters is also difficult to achieve because of rival loyalties towards NATO. Throughout the post 1945 period, European states have treated NATO as the cornerstone of their defence policy. Progress in developing a common EU foreign and defence policy is therefore seen as downgrading the influence of NATO, and weakening the diplomatic and defence links between Europe and the USA.
• A common foreign and security policy is also hampered by the EU’s limited military capability, a weakness that became particularly evident in relation to the EU’s inability to act over the former-Yugoslavia in the late 1990s. The European Defence Agency (EDA) was set up in 2004, but the creation of a European army still looks to be many years away.
Member states have, to a greater or lesser extent, been deeply reluctant to cede control of foreign and defence policy to the EU. This is primarily because control over military and diplomatic affairs is usually considered fundamental to the independence and identity of a state, the practical expression of its sovereignty. Co-operation in matters of foreign affairs and defence is therefore politically more sensitive than co-operation in matters such as the economy and trade. This reluctance is reflected in the fact foreign and defence matters continue to be protected by the national veto.
• Co-operation in foreign and security matters is also difficult to achieve because of rival loyalties towards NATO. Throughout the post 1945 period, European states have treated NATO as the cornerstone of their defence policy. Progress in developing a common EU foreign and defence policy is therefore seen as downgrading the influence of NATO, and weakening the diplomatic and defence links between Europe and the USA.
• A common foreign and security policy is also hampered by the EU’s limited military capability, a weakness that became particularly evident in relation to the EU’s inability to act over the former-Yugoslavia in the late 1990s. The European Defence Agency (EDA) was set up in 2004, but the creation of a European army still looks to be many years away.