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<p>In December 1998 France and the United Kingdom called for the European Union (EU) to develop \"the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so.\" This was the beginning of the EU's European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), because this goal was endorsed by the EU as a whole at Cologne in June 1999. The EU's ESDP immediately ignited controversy in relations between the EU and NATO. However, it was soon discovered that the development of the ESDP could not be easily accomplished without recourse to NATO assets and expertise. The EU has accordingly established various mechanisms for consultation facilitating the development of the ESDP not as an entirely independent policy, but rather one pursued in cooperation with NATO. Furthermore, in its current form the underlying principles of the ESDP have not been driven primarily by the need for independent defense capabilities, which seem remote at the present time as far as the most demanding contingencies are concerned, but rather by the need to be able to act when and if the United States and NATO decide to step aside. The success of the ESDP may well be influenced by the progress in cooperation between the EU and NATO, in view of their overlapping but distinctive memberships and purposes.
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<br>Subjects: European Union; National security; European Union countries</div>
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Nowak, Rafal Artur</div>
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