External policies I: CFSP and Common Commercial Policy.

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External policies I CFSP and Common Commercial
Policy.

• Prof. Andreas Bieler

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Structure of lecture

• Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
• Common Commercial Policy (CCP)

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I. Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

• 1. Theoretical remarks
• Neo-functionalism the logic of spill-over
  implies integration in more and more related
  areas including issues of foreign policy and
  political union more generally
• (Liberal) intergovernmentalism there is a clear
  distinction between low politics including areas
  such as economic co-operation and areas of high
  politics consisting of foreign, security and
  defence policy. Integration will only take place
  in the former

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What is EU foreign policy?

• foreign policy also includes issues such as EU
  enlargement and common commercial policy, not
  only matters of security and defence
• problem too much focus on institutional set-up
  and on the activities in Pillar 2, when analysing
  EU foreign policy
• supranational institutions are more involved in
  EU enlargement and common commercial policy and
  the EU acts as a stronger and more unitary actor
  in these areas

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2. History of CFSP

• 1954 failure of European Defence Community
• 1970 establishment of the European Political
  Co-operation (EPC)
• 1991 Treaty of Maastricht including the second
  pillar of a Common Foreign and Security Policy

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3. The Treaty of Maastricht and CFSP

• confirmation of European Council as main
  decision-making institution
• West European Union is linked to EU
• defence policy the Treaty pointed to the
  eventual framing of a common defence policy,
  which might in time lead to a common defence

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Empirical reality break up of Yugoslavia and
the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo

• July 1995 NATO air attacks on Yugoslav army after
  massacre of Srebrenica
• November 1995 Peace Deal in Dayton under US
  leadership
• March/April 1999 air attacks on Serb forces in
  Kosovo by NATO, but united EU position throughout
  the conflict

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4. The Treaty of Amsterdam

• institutional improvements (1) new policy
  planning and early warning unit (2) M. PESC,
  heading this unit and bringing together officials
  from the Council, WEU, member states and the
  Commission
• incorporation of the WEU-Petersberg tasks into
  the EU remit humanitarian and rescue tasks,
  peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in
  crisis management, including peacemaking
• no further clarification about common defence
  policy

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5. Recent Developments

• December 1999 at the Helsinki European Council
  the EU agrees on the formation of a rapid
  reaction force of 50.000 to 60.000 soldiers by
  2003
• December 2000 the Treaty of Nice agrees on
  closer integration of WEU in EU via the Political
  and Security Committee and confirms the formation
  of the rapid reaction force
• war on Iraq demonstrated continuing deep-rooted
  differences between EU members on foreign policy
• 2005 command of the military stabilisation force
  in Bosnia Herzegovina was transferred from Nato
  to the EU

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6. Why is it so difficult to forge a common
foreign policy?

1. Weak institutions
2. No convergence of national interests
3. Lack of common European identity
4. Complex institutional web in European security
5. Brusselisation rather than integration

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7. Points for further reflection

• In what way is the EU superior to military
  organisations such as NATO?
• Is a military capacity for the EU desirable?
• What is the purpose of such a military capacity?

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II. The EU as a global actor the common
commercial policy (CCP).

• General background
• the Commission is the EUs main representation
  within the area of the common commercial policy,
  a Pillar I issue, and within the World Trade
  organisation
• what is the social purpose underlying the EU
  common commercial policy?

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2. EU foreign trade policy

• clear understanding of the social and political
  project underpinning foreign policy by EU
  policy-makers trade partners have to commit
  themselves to neo-liberal restructuring in tandem
  with commitments to human rights, the rule of law
  and representative democracy
• social purpose strengthening of European
  competitiveness on the global market in view of
  competition with the US-led North American
  regional bloc and Japan

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3. The EUs wider role Global Europe

• the ACP-EU partnership agreement based on
  preferential treatment was signed in Cotonou in
  2000, but is no longer compatible with WTO
  regulations
• the EU intends to move towards WTO-compatible
  Economic Partnership Agreements with African,
  Caribbean and Pacific countries, which are
  presented by the European Commission as trade
  and co-operation agreements at the service of
  development
• critical NGOs such as War on Want question this
  benevolent interpretation attack on developing
  countries economy in the interest of European
  capital