European Security and Defence Union


The European Security and Defence Union is a concept proposed by Germany, France, Luxembourg and Belgium on 29 April 2003 for the further development of the European Security and Defence Policy, first proposed by Dominique de Villepin and Joschka Fischer in 2002 and adopted on 17 December 2017. The Security and Defence Union is often equated with the EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation.

Content

The member states should:
  • undertake to assist and support each other in the event of danger
  • systematically coordinate their positions
  • coordinate their defence efforts
  • develop their military capabilities
  • regularly increase their defence spending

Germany and the ESDU

The goal of creating a European Security and Defence Union was laid down in the defence policy guidelines of the Federal [Ministry of Defence (Germany)|German Federal Ministry of Defence] in 2003. In the ongoing debate on improving European security structures and the possible creation of a joint European army, representatives of both the Social [Democratic Party of Germany|SPD] and the CDU refer to the ESDP concept.

Projects of the ESDU

Initially, it was reported that 17 projects had been approved. Other sources report 47 project proposals, of which 10 are expected to be approved: