Public expectations and EU policies – Security and defence policy

A series of Briefings from the European Parliamentary Research Service which looks at EU actions in a series of policy areas. This follows up a public opinion survey organised by Eurobarometer for the European Parliament in April 2016 which asked the question: Would you like the EU to intervene less than at present or more than at present for the following policy areas?

Terrorism / Unemployment / Tax fraud / Migration / Borders / Democracy / Environment / Security and defence / Health / Gender equality / Energy / Economy / Foreign policy / Agriculture / Industrial policyDecisions on security and defence policy are, most of the time, taken by the EU-28's national governments and usually without public scrutiny. Yet, almost two thirds of EU citizens would like the EU to intervene in this policy area more than it does at present.

Since the introduction of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) in the Treaty of Maastricht, the EU has made substantial progress in assuming its role as a regional security provider. Although significantly strengthened by the Treaty of Lisbon, this policy area continues to be hampered by the Member States' lack of will to make better use of the existing legal framework, and by inadequate funding mechanisms.

Authors: Patryk Pawlak, Kristina Grosek, Alina Dobreva

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