Common Security and Defence Policy

The Common Security and Defence Policy is the European Union's course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The CSDP involves the deployment of military or civilian missions to preserve peace, prevent conflict and strengthen international security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Military missions are carried out by EU forces established with secondments from the member states' armed forces. The CSDP also entails collective self-defence amongst member states as well as a Permanent Structured Cooperation in which 26 of the 27 national armed forces pursue structural integration. The CSDP structure – headed by the Union's High Representative, Kaja Kallas, and sometimes referred to as the European Defence Union in relation to its prospective development as the EU's defence arm – comprises:

the European Commission's Defence Industry Directorate-General
the External Action Service's Crisis Management and Planning Directorate and permanent Operation Headquarters for command and control at the military/civilian strategic level, i.e. the MPCC and CPCC.
a number of Foreign Affairs Council preparatory bodies – such as the Military Committee
four agencies, including the Defence Agency.

The EU command and control structures are much smaller than the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Command Structure, which has been established for territorial defence. It has been agreed that NATO's Allied Command Operations may be used for the conduct of the EU's missions. The MPCC, established in 2017 and to be strengthened in 2020, is the EU's first permanent military OHQ. In parallel, the European Defence Fund marks the first time the EU budget is used to finance multinational defence projects.
Decisions relating to the CSDP are proposed by the High Representative, adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council, generally requiring unanimity, to be then implemented by the High Representative.

History

The post-war period saw several short-lived or ill-fated initiatives for European defence integration intended to protect against potential Soviet or German aggression: The Western Union and the proposed European Defence Community were respectively cannibalised by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and rejected by the French Parliament. The Western European Union succeeded the WU in 1955, but was largely overshadowed by NATO.
In 1970 the European Political Cooperation brought about the European Communities' initial foreign policy coordination. Opposition to the addition of security and defence matters to the EPC led to the reactivation of the WEU in 1984 by its member states, which were also EC member states.
European defence integration gained momentum soon after the end of the Cold War, partly as a result of the EC's failure to prevent the Yugoslav Wars. In 1992, the WEU was given new tasks, and the following year the Treaty of Maastricht founded the EU and replaced the EPC with the Common Foreign and Security Policy pillar. In 1996 NATO agreed to let the WEU develop a so-called European Security and Defence Identity. The 1998 St. Malo declaration signalled that the traditionally hesitant United Kingdom was prepared to provide the EU with autonomous defence structures. This facilitated the transformation of the ESDI into the European Security and Defence Policy in 1999, when it was transferred to the EU. In 2003 the EU deployed its first CSDP missions, and adopted the European Security Strategy identifying common threats and objectives. In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon introduced the present name, CSDP, while establishing the EEAS, the mutual defence clause and enabling a subset of member states to pursue defence integration within PESCO. In 2011 the WEU, whose tasks had been transferred to the EU, was dissolved. In 2016 a new security strategy was introduced, which along with the Russian annexation of Crimea, the British withdrawal from the EU and the election of Donald Trump as US president have given the CSDP a new impetus.

Deployments

The first deployment of European troops under the ESDP, following the 1999 declaration of intent, was in March 2003 in the Republic of Macedonia. Operation Concordia used NATO assets and was considered a success and replaced by a smaller police mission, EUPOL Proxima, later that year. Since then, there have been other small police, justice and monitoring missions. As well as in the Republic of Macedonia, the EU has maintained its deployment of peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of Operation Althea.
Between May and September 2003 EU troops were deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during "Operation Artemis" under a mandate given by UN Security Council Resolution 1484 which aimed to prevent further atrocities and violence in the Ituri Conflict and put the DRC's peace process back on track. This laid out the "framework nation" system to be used in future deployments. The EU returned to the DRC during July–November 2006 with EUFOR RD Congo, which supported the UN mission there during the country's elections.
Geographically, EU missions outside the Balkans and the DRC have taken place in Georgia, Indonesia, Sudan, Palestine, and Ukraine–Moldova. There is also a judicial mission in Iraq. On 28 January 2008, the EU deployed its largest and most multi-national mission to Africa, EUFOR Tchad/RCA. The UN-mandated mission involves troops from 25 EU states deployed in areas of eastern Chad and the north-eastern Central African Republic in order to improve security in those regions. EUFOR Tchad/RCA reached full operation capability in mid-September 2008, and handed over security duties to the UN in mid-March 2009.
The EU launched its first maritime CSDP operation on 12 December 2008. The concept of the European Union Naval Force was created on the back of this operation, which is still successfully combatting piracy off the coast of Somalia almost a decade later. A second such intervention was launched in 2015 to tackle migration problems in the southern Mediterranean, working under the name Operation SOPHIA.
Most of the CSDP missions deployed so far are mandated to support security sector reforms in host-states. One of the core principles of CSDP support to SSR is local ownership. The EU Council defines ownership as "the appropriation by the local authorities of the commonly agreed objectives and principles". Despite EU's strong rhetorical attachment to the local ownership principle, research shows that CSDP missions continue to be an externally driven, top-down and supply-driven endeavour, resulting often in the low degree of local participation.

Structure

The CSDP involves military or civilian missions being deployed to preserve peace, prevent conflict and strengthen international security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Military missions are carried out by EU forces established with contributions from the member states' armed forces. The CSDP also entails collective self-defence amongst member states as well as a Permanent Structured Cooperation in which 26 of the 27 national armed forces pursue structural integration. The CSDP structure, headed by the Union's High Representative, Kaja Kallas, comprises:

the Defence Industry Directorate-General of the European Commission
relevant sections of the External Action Service — including the Military Staff with its so-called Military Planning and Conduct Capability
a number of Foreign Affairs Council preparatory bodies – such as the Military Committee
four agencies, including the European Defence Agency.

While the EU has a command and control structure, it has no standing permanent military structure along the lines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Allied Command Operations, although it has been agreed that ACO resources may be used for the conduct of the EU's CSDP missions. The MPCC, established in 2017 and to be strengthened in 2020, does however represent the EU's first step in developing a permanent military headquarters. In parallel, the newly established European Defence Fund marks the first time the EU budget is used to finance multinational defence projects. The CSDP structure is sometimes referred to as the European Defence Union, especially in relation to its prospective development as the EU's defence arm.
Decisions relating to the CSDP are proposed by the HR/VP, adopted by the FAC, generally requiring unanimity, and then implemented by the HR/VP.

Strategy

The European Union Global Strategy is the updated doctrine of the EU to improve the effectiveness of the CSDP, including the defence and security of the members states, the protection of civilians, cooperation between the member states' armed forces, management of immigration, crises etc. Adopted on 28 June 2016, it replaces the European Security Strategy of 2003. The EUGS is complemented by a document titled "Implementation Plan on Security and Defense".
Deterrence theory is applied to deter aggressors as one of the core mandates of Common Security and Defence Policy, yet lacks credibility due to insufficient resources.

Forces

A new Action Plan on military mobility and cyber resilience was released 10 November 2022.

National

The CSDP is implemented using civilian and military contributions from member states' armed forces, which also are obliged to collective self-defence based on Treaty on European Union.
Five EU states host nuclear weapons: France has its own nuclear programmes, while Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands host US nuclear weapons as part of NATO's nuclear sharing policy. Combined, the EU possesses 300 warheads, and hosts between 90 and 130 US warheads. Italy hosts 70-90 B61 nuclear bombs, while Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands 10-20 each one. The EU has the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, after the United States and Russia.