Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

Safeguarding the EU’s common values, its fundamental interests, independence and integrity, strengthening its security, including protecting its external borders, preserving global peace and enhancing international security, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris, are the key objectives of the EU’s Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP). The EU acts on the international scene with a view to promoting Democracy, the Rule of Law, as well as respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the principles of equality and solidarity.

The Lisbon Treaty (2009) introduced significant institutional changes to the CFSP. The rotating six-month presidency was replaced by a permanent structure under the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who also acts as the European Commission’s Vice-President. The HR/VP chairs the EU's Foreign Affairs Council, including its Defence and Development configurations, while the European External Action Service (EEAS) assists him in his duties. The EEAS is staffed with personnel from the European Commission, the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU, as well as from diplomatic staff of the member states. The European Union Special Representatives (EUSRs) constitute an additional important tool for the promotion and coordination of the EU’s action in geographical and thematical areas of specific interest.

Of particular importance in the CFSP framework is the mutual defence clause, introduced by the Lisbon Treaty (Article 42.7 of the TEU). It provides that if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states are obliged to aid and assist it by all the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. This clause has been invoked once so far, namely by France, in November 2015, following the terrorist attacks in Paris. The Lisbon Treaty also introduced a solidarity clause (Article 222 of the TFEU), which provides that the Union and its member states shall act jointly in a spirit of solidarity, including by mobilising military resources, if a member state is the object of a terrorist attack or the victim of a natural or man-made disaster.