Consequences of European Union Enlargement Essay

Consequences of European Union Enlargement - Essay Example The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was introduced in the Maastricht Treaty sometime after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US (Algieri, 2002). EU’s initial reaction to the threat of international terrorism was to adopt a Plan of Action that supported the coalition against this menace (Ibid). The plan consisted of diplomatic overtures, police and judicial cooperation, humanitarian aid, air transport security, economic and financial measures, and emergency preparedness (Ibid), which were all pursued while the Union leadership was starting to develop the CFSP in tandem with the European Security and Defense Policy. Since the CFSP plan has military implications, the capability of EU to undertake such a program promptly came into question. The basic problem is that EU is non-military in structure and member states would like the Union to stay that way. At one point, for example, member states ganged up on a plan to purchase A400 military transport aircraft, which bespok e a military buildup. As for the foreign policy aspect of the CFSP, skeptics of the plan harp on the lack of EU strategic vision in this arena as evidenced by the absence of clear geopolitical thinking in the CFSP objectives set in Article 11 of the Maastricht Treaty. There is also the inherent difficulty of conducting foreign relations on a common EU basis. This was demonstrated when Union representatives were sent on a diplomatic mission to Islamic countries at the same time that UK foreign ministers were on a separate mission. at the UK government's own initiative. The disparate efforts invite accusations that EU is wanting in a coherent foreign affairs policy, which does not speak well of its ability to put together an efficient CFSP. For these reasons, observers expect the CFSP/ESDP to remain a