The European Security and Defense Identity: a challenge for NATO and the United States

Abstract

The development of the EU's European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) since 1998 has strongly affected the EU-NATO relationship. Starting with the Franco-British bilateral declaration at Saint-Malo in December 1998, the EU recognized the need for autonomous military capacities for actions outside NATO's framework. This policy challenged NATO's agreement to enhance the European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) as a European pillar within NATO, as agreed at NATO's Ministerial Meeting in Berlin in June 1996. As the development of the EU's ESDP between December 1998 and December 2000 indicated, the members of the EU have put more emphasis on developing ESDP within the EU rather than developing ESDI within NATO. Developing the ESDP inside the EU, however, tends to undermine NATO's concept of strengthening the European pillar under the authority of the North Atlantic Council.