ABSTRACT
Coherence in European Union (EU) external policies and the effectiveness of the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) were central issues in the preparation of the new Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on 2 October 1997. Coherence has also featured high on the development policy agenda in 1997: both EU Presidencies (the Dutch in the first semester and Luxembourg in the second) attempted to solve some of the inconsistencies affecting the Union’s policies towards the South.
