The European Union's common foreign and security policy and the transatlantic relationship

Abstract

This dissertation will analyse the debate about the role of the US in Europe, which has always been twofold on both sides of the Atlantic. The first is about the extent, durability and reliability of American involvement in Europe. The second is about the specific relationship between the US and Europe regarding their relative roles and weight in foreign policy and security issues in Europe and in the international sphere. The first chapter will tackle the development of the Common Foreign Security Policy (CFSP) within the EU and how the United States had been involved in the creation and development of the European Community, lately known as the European Union. This will include the failed attempts of the early communities followed by the first successful result in re-launching the EPC in 1969 followed by the CFSP which came into being in the Treaty of Maastricht and emended in the following Treaties. The following chapters will then focus on the bilateral relations between the EU and US and their impact in the international system, which have changed significantly over distinct stages since 1945. During the Cold War, the transatlantic relationship can be identified in two historical periods: the hegemonic period, 1945 to the 1970s, and hegemonic decline, 1970 to the end of the Cold War. As Europe was weak after World War II, the first period is characterized by a close political, military and economic alliance between the US and EC states as the world was dominated by the US and the Soviet Union. However, the EC's dependence upon the United States was not always acceptable. After 1970, the international system moved from a bipolar to a multipolar system and the influence of US hegemony over Europe diminished greatly as the EC began to develop economically and politically.

The end of the Cold War brought enormous changes to the security environment in Europe and created a new set of strategic challenges for the United States and Europe. The US was no longer to be Europe's protector and Europe appeared to be on the threshold of a new era. The main question was what kind of partner would the EU be for the US in the new transatlantic partnership. This was adopted in the Transatlantic Declaration (1990), and the New Transatlantic Agenda and the EU-US Joint Action Plan (1995). The terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001 showed that security issues did not disappear after the end of the Cold War and confirmed that the transatlantic partners cannot tackle global challenges alone. The EU' s member states stood together and showed solidarity with America in response to the attacks thus provided a strong impetus to the transatlantic partnership. However this was not to last long, as a year after, America and Europe had to confront an issue that definitely marked a rift in their relation. The issue was Iraq. Now that the Iraq crisis is over, one will look forward to how the EU will develop its CFSP in the Convention and how the transatlantic ties might develop in the future.