7 November 2005
The Debate on the Future of CFSP: The Obsession with the Constitutional Treaty
The last years have been a crucial phase for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Apparent failure during the Iraq crisis (Hill 2004), increased heterogeneity in the wake of enlargement, and the present ratification crisis of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE) - which was triggered by a negative vote in France on 29 May 2005 and an even more dramatic rejection a few days later on 3 June 2005 in the Netherlands - do not sum up to an overwhelmingly positive assessment of the record of Europe’s foreign policy. Now that the entrance into force of the Constitutional Treaty seems to be in real danger, pessimists might state that the stakes for the CFSP and its future look rather dreadful. The EU will probably have to be prepared to live and work with the Treaty of Nice in the coming years, which might lead to new crises and conflicts.