Foreign Security Policy - Essay Example

The Umbrella of the European Union's European Security Defence Policy/ Common Foreign Security Policy According to Sally McNamara, The European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) has emerged as one of the biggest attempts to expand EU power to date, centralizing the most important tools of nation-statehood. The militarization of the European Union marks one of the greatest geopolitical shifts in the transatlantic alliance since the end of the Second World War. As a political initiative, it embodies the worst elements of European animosity toward the United States and would fundamentally undermine the NATO alliance and the Anglo-American Special Relationship.

1 On the other hand, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is the organized, agreed foreign policy of the EU for mainly security and defense diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU External Relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas as funding to third countries, etc. The CFSP operates as the second of the three pillars of the European Union as established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992. Decisions require unanimity among member states in the EU's Council.

2 However, the missing link for a unified EU is the integration of member's state security and defense policies.3Yet, the critiques are seeing beyond the borders of EU policies. Through ESDP and CFSP, EU is now headed to play as global actor.