The EU's Peace and Security Strategy in the DRC

It was a bit of a surprise, back in spring 2003, in the shadow of the second US-led Iraq campaign, when the European Union (EU) announced it was to get militarily engaged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This was to be known as ‘Operation Artemis’, the EU’s second military operation conducted within the framework of its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and, more specifically, under the terms of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). ¹ It was also its first operation outside of Europe.