ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the developments during the negotiations in Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) in order to provide a fuller intergovernmental explanation of the outcome in security and defence and the Irish role in the negotiations. The Intergovernmental Conference negotiations were long and complex however, three distinct phases can be discerned. The Italian Presidency corresponded to the first phase and served to bring the main issues into focus, the Irish Presidency corresponded to the second phase and the Dutch Presidency to the third phase. The chapter considers international security and indicated that while the Irish position could never be described as maximalist, Ireland would be a constructive participant in line with what it saw as being necessary in integration terms for both Ireland and Europe. It illustrates the varying views held between the member states and the European Union institutions before analysing where the Irish position fell in this continuum.
