With or without the EU Constitutional Treaty: towards a common security and defence policy?

Abstract:

This article discusses the three main policy fields of the Common Security and Defence Policy ("CSDP") envisaged under the ill-fated EU Constitutional Treaty, namely armaments policy, crisis management and collective defence. The analysis takes different versions of the document into account: from the Draft presented by the Convention in July 2003 to the final version published in December 2004. It will be argued that the future of these elements of the CSDP does not depend on the entering into force of the Constitutional Treaty. The CSDP armaments policy has been detached from the Constitutional Treaty and implemented through a Joint Action. It is already developing on the basis of the current framework. Moreover, the CSDP crisis management policy does not differ substantially from that of the European Security and Defence Policy presently conducted under the Treaty of Nice. It can be developed on the basis of the current framework. Finally, the collective defence commitment envisaged in the Constitutional Treaty could also be introduced on the basis of Art.17(1) of the Treaty on European Union.