Common Foreign and Security Policy

Co-operation in international trade negotiations, under the EU's Common Commercial Policy, dates back to the establishment of the community in 1957.[2] The CFSP itself has its origins in the formation of European Political Co-operation (EPC) in 1970.[3] European Political Co-operation was an informal consultation process between member states on foreign policy matters, with the aim of creating a common approach to foreign policy issues and promoting both the EC's own interests and those of the international community as a whole. This includes promoting international co-operation, respect for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.[4]

The weaknesses evident in EPC, apparent, for example during the Yugoslav wars, led to a desire to strengthen foreign policy. That was consolidated in the Maastricht Treaty, which entered into force in 1993 and established the European Union. While the previously existing supranational European Economic Community became one of three pillars, two more pillars were erected. The second CFSP-pillar was based on intergovernmentalism, which meant unanimity between members in the Council of Ministers and little influence by the other institutions.

The Amsterdam Treaty created the office of the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (held by Javier Solana until 1 December 2009) to co-ordinate and represent the EU's foreign policy.[5]

The Treaty of Lisbon took effect in December 2009 and brought an end to the pillar system. The CFSP's status of being a "pillar" thus ended. Furthermore, in an effort to ensure greater co-ordination and consistency in EU foreign policy, the Treaty of Lisbon created a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, de facto merging the post of High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy. Since December 2011 the High Representative (HR) is in charge of the European External Action Service (EEAS), which was also created by the Treaty of Lisbon. It essentially is intended to be a common Foreign Office or Diplomatic Corps for the European Union.

The European Council defines the principles and general guidelines for the CFSP as well as common strategies to be implemented by the EU. On the basis of those guidelines the Council of Ministers adopts joint actions or common positions. Joint actions address specific situations where operation action by the EU is considered necessary and lay down the objectives, scope and means to be made available to the EU. They commit the member states. Common positions on the other hand, define the approach that the EU takes on a certain matter of geographical or thematic nature, and define in the abstract the general guidelines to which the national policies of Member states must conform.

The High Representative, in conjunction with the President of the European Council, speaks on behalf of the EU in agreed foreign policy matters and can have the task of articulating ambiguous policy positions created by disagreements among member states. The Common Foreign and Security Policy requires unanimity among the 27 member states on the appropriate policy to follow on any particular policy. Disagreements in CFSP, such as those that occurred over the war in Iraq,[6] are not uncommon.

The High Representative also coordinates the work of the European Union Special Representatives. With the Lisbon Treaty taking effect, the position became distinct from the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers. The High Representative serves as the head of the European Defence Agency and exercises the same functions over the Common Security and Defence Policy as the CFSP. On 1 December 2009, Catherine Ashton took over Javier Solana's post as the High Representative, who has held the post since 1999. On 30 August 2014 it was announced by Herman Van Rompuy that Federica Mogherini would be the new High Representative, effective on 1 November 2014.

There are a number of bodies set up within the context of the CFSP. Within the Council, there is the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) configuration, essentially a meeting of foreign ministers and the Political and Security Committee or PSC, which monitors the international situation in the areas covered by the CFSP and contributes by delivering opinions to the Council of Ministers, either at its request or its own initiative, and also monitors the implementation of agreed policies.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) encourages increase in defence capabilities, military research and the establishment of a European internal market for military technology. Two bodies carried over from the Western European Union (see defence, below) are the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and the European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC). The EUISS is the European Union's in-house think tank. Its mission is to find a common security culture for the EU, to help develop and project the CFSP, and to enrich Europe's strategic debate. The EUSC is providing analysis of satellite imagery and collateral data.

Although the Irish people were reassured of their neutrality before agreeing to the Nice Treaty, the Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, on 5 July 2006, while speaking to the European Parliament as Council President declared:[8]

Mr Pflüger described Finland as neutral. I must correct him on that: Finland is a member of the EU. We were at one time a politically neutral country, during the time of the Iron Curtain. Now we are a member of the Union, part of this community of values, which has a common policy and, moreover, a common foreign policy.

Nevertheless, a similar guarantee on neutrality in relation to the Treaty of Lisbon was granted to Ireland at the European Council of 18/19 June 2009:

The European Council also agreed that other concerns of the Irish people, as presented by the Taoiseach, relating to taxation policy, the right to life, education and the family, and Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality, would be addressed to the mutual satisfaction of Ireland and the other Member States, by way of the necessary legal guarantees.[9]

The list of terrorist organisations was started in 2001 with the 13 organisations listed on 27 December of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP.[12] The European Community had not listed Al-Qaeda although the 9/11 attacks had been the instigator of the list. It has been updated by a number of subsequent declarations, such as Common Position 2006/231/CFSP of 21 December 2005;[13] for example so as to include LTTE.[14]

Common Position 2005/847/CFSP of the European Council of 29 November 2005 updated the list of these organizations,[15] which are as follows:

• Abu Nidal
• Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
• Al-Aqsa eV
• Al-Takfir wa-l-Hijra
• Aum Shinrikyo
• Babbar Khalsa
• Communist Party of the Philippines, including the New People's Army
• Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
• ETA / Bath Tierra y Libertad / Basque Fatherland and Freedom (ETA), which includes organizations: KAS, Xaki, Ekin, Jarrai-Haika-Segi and Gestoras pro Amnistía
• Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya
• Islamic Front of the great fighters of the East
• Grupos de Resistencia Anti-Fascist Primero de Octubre / 1 October, anti-fascist resistance group (GRAPO)
• Hamas, including 'Izz Brigades al-Din al-Qassam
• Hizbul Mujahideen
• Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development
• International Sikh Youth Federation
• International Solidarity
• Kahane Chai
• Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
• Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)
• Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO or MEC), except for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
• National Liberation Army / Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN)
• Orange Volunteers (OV)
• Front for the Liberation of Palestine
• Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, also known as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
• Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC)
• Real IRA
• Red Brigades for the Construction of the Communist Party Fighter (BR-PCC)
• Red Hand Defenders (RHD)
• Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
• Revolutionary Nuclei / Epanastatiki Pirines
• Revolutionary Organization 17 November / Dekati Evdomi Noemvri
• Devrimci Sol or Army / Front / Revolutionary People's Liberation Party (DHKP / C)
• Revolutionary Popular Struggle / Epanastatikos Laikos Agonas (ELA)
• Partido Comunista Peruano - Sendero Luminoso / Shining Path (SL)
• Stichting Al Aqsa Mosque (aka Stichting Al Aqsa Nederland, aka Al Aqsa Nederland)
• Brigade XX Luglio
• Ulster Defence Association / Ulster Freedom Fighters (UDA / UFF)
• United Self-Defense of Colombia (AUC)
• Core initiative proletarian revolutionary (results Inactive)
• Informal Anarchist Federation including cell cooperative artisan fire, natural - occasionally spectacular

The European Community humanitarian aid office, or "ECHO", provides humanitarian aid from the EU to developing countries. In 2006 its budget amounted to 671 million euro, 48% of which went to the ACP countries.[23] Counting the EU's own contributions and those of its member states together, the EU is the largest aid donor in the world.[24]

The EU's aid has previously been criticised by the think-tank Open Europe for being inefficient, mis-targeted and linked to economic objectives.[25] Furthermore, some charities have claimed European governments have inflated the amount they have spent on aid by incorrectly including money spent on debt relief, foreign students, and refugees. Under the de-inflated figures, the EU did not reach its internal aid target in 2006[26] and the EU would not reach the international target of 0.7% of GNP until 2015. However, only a few countries have reached that target. In 2005 EU aid was 0.34% of the GNP, which was higher than that of the United States and Japan.[27] The ex commissioner for aid, Louis Michel, has called for aid to be delivered more rapidly, to greater effect, and on humanitarian principles.[24]