How Civilian Is the ESDP?

Abstract:

Publicly, the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) tends to be associated with the creation of a military component of the EU. Yet the first operation within the framework of the ESDP is being executed using exclusively civilian means - through the European Police Mission (EUPM) in Bosnia-Herzegovina since January 2003.

On 31 March 2003, the EU took over the military mission Allied Harmony (now called Concordia) in Macedonia, and from 2004 on, this could also be the case with SFOR. With the ESDP, Europe has set itself the goal of 'a balanced parallel development of military and civilian capabilities', in order to bolster Europe's influence in international crisis management.

Meanwhile, the civilian component of the ESDP is not just less well-known, but so far, it is also significantly underdeveloped. The European police force may represent a beginning, but further non-military instruments must also be deployable if a broad civilian-military approach is to become a trademark of future EU security policy.