The role of small states in the common security and defence policy

Abstract

The CSDP is a new concept to the international relations dimension, however since 2003 the EU deployed no less than thirty-six operations with different objectives in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The period of the early 2000s was one of euphoria for the EU, as can be noted in the first line of the European Security Strategy, “Europe has never been so prosperous, so secure nor so free” (ESS, 2003). The EU was also awaiting the 2004 enlargement which brought in ten new Member States. The enlargement took the EU’s boundaries to new neighbourhoods in the East and South, which increased impetus for collective foreign, defence, security policies to take adequate action if needed. The larger portion of the EU’s member states are relatively small in size, thus their role in CSDP operations is vital. Prior to deploying a CSDP operation, several meetings are held discussing the action itself and the interests of all Member States with regards to the action. Small states tend to be very effective in protecting their interests in the area, especially when considering the fact that every decision is taken with unanimity during Council negotiations pertaining CSDP. Despite being strongly effective in the Council, small states are limited in their role on the ground in CSDP operations. In this dissertation, the author focused on the relevance of small states during Council negotiations in the area of CSDP, and what are the components that hinders their participations in CSDP operations. Small states retain their strength mostly through unanimity voting, however an increase in areas to be shifted towards qualified majority voting are currently being discussed. The author also explored how alliances in other international organisations, neutrality, and limitations of resources are impacting the role of small state in CSDP operations. With the intention of gathering the best insight on the subject, the author based the research mostly on interviews with experts who work in European institutions, and also experts that represent different Member States in Council formations pertaining CSDP. Small states are wary of shifting to more qualified majority voting, but it also depends on the policies of individual Member States. The larger Member States tend to contribute more to CSDP operations as their human and financial resources can sustain operations without creating shortfalls in their internal security. Constitutional limitations may not hinder participation of the neutral Member States as CSDP operations are diverse and of crisis management in nature. Participation in other alliances on the other hand tends to stretch out the resources of small states, thus choosing in which operations these are to deploy civilian or military personnel to relies on the interests of the state.