ABSTRACT
The genesis of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and the European Union's (EU's) emerging military/defence role can be traced fairly straightforwardly. Within the framework of the CSDP, however, armed forces remain national, with decisions on defence spending, force structure and the use of armed forces ultimately under the control of each national government. The key CSDP decision-making structures – the Political and Security Committee (PSC), the EU Military Committee (EUMC), and above them the Foreign Affairs Council and the European Council – are all intergovernmental and operate on the basis of unanimity. The chapter explores the strategic practice of the EU in terms of scale and types of CSDP operations the EU has undertaken to date. It assesses the impact of CSDP operations in the countries where they have been deployed, exploring the extent to which they may be viewed as successful and the wider geostrategic impact of the CSDP to date.
