ABSTRACT
The intention was that the new Europe was to become an actor on the world stage in its own right. In the late 1990's post Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties environment, the 15 member states of the European Union (EU) in their official policy pronouncements still cling to that official orthodoxy. The late 1990s contrasted to the 1950s demonstrates that, there is a significant gap between the intentions of the member states and the actual policy outcomes that have been achieved. There are a number of reasons for this policy gap. A major negotiating compromise was the "pillar" construction of the EU which created a barrier between the Common Commercial Policy, the external economic relations and trade relations of the European Community pillar and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), foreign and security policy pillar. One of the most important aspects of the Amsterdam Treaty for the future of the CFSP and the EU itself, were the provisions on flexibility.
