Common foreign and security policy (CFSP)

The glossary is being updated given the recent signing of the Treaty of Lisbon.

The common foreign and security policy (CFSP) was established and is governed by Title V of the Treaty on European Union (EU). It replaced European Political Cooperation (EPC) and provides for the eventual framing of a common defence policy which might in time lead to a common defence.

The objectives of this second pillar of the Union are set out in Article 11 of the EU Treaty and are to be attained through specific legal instruments (joint action, common position) which have to be adopted unanimously in the Council. With the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), the European Union also has a new instrument at its disposal - the common strategy. The Treaty of Amsterdam also provided for qualified majority voting under certain conditions and, since it was signed, the CFSP field has been developing in practice at every European Council.

The Treaty of Nice (2001) introduced the possibility, under certain conditions, of establishing closer cooperation in the CFSP field for the implementation of joint actions and common positions. This closer cooperation may not be used for matters with military or defence implications.

See:

• Abstention, constructive (positive abstention)
• Common position (CFSP)
• Common strategy (CFSP)
• Coreu (CORrespondance EUropéenne)
• Declaration (CFSP)
• Joint action (CFSP)
• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
• Pillars of the European Union
• Political and Security Committee (PSC)
• Single institutional framework
• Western European Union (WEU)