Between Vision and Reality: CFSP's Progress on the Path to Maturity

The last year or so has seen a sea-change in the attitude of many to the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). A number of bold initiatives during this period has the potential to move CFSP beyond paper commitments towards the creation of an autonomous capacity for engagement in a number of crisis management scenarios.
The strides made in CFSP and those in formulating a Common European Security and Defence Policy (CESDP) will remain only a vision if attempts are not made to consider the resource implications. The role of European and other defence industries is of paramount importance in facilitating, or hindering, progression from vision to reality.
With the aim of stimulating discussion, this book brings together a number of contributions presented at a two-day colloquium organised by the European Institute of Public Administration, Maastricht in the autumn of 1999. The outcome represents the views of the individuals involved who were drawn from official and academic backgrounds.
`I commend this book to all those who are interested not only in the latest developments in Europe's Common Foreign and Security Policy but also its potential for the future. The various contributions raise important issues which all of us will be grappling with over the next few years. This books helps shed some light on the path which lies ahead'.
From the foreword by Dr. Javier Solana
Secretary General, High Representative of the European Union for the Common Foreign and Security Policy