European Security and Defense Union

The European Security and Defense Union (ESDU) is a concept adopted by Germany, France, Luxembourg and Belgium on April 29, 2003 for the further development of the European security and defense policy , which was first proposed in 2002 by Dominique de Villepin and Joschka Fischer and on December 11 2017 was decided. The Security and Defense Union is often equated with the "Permanent Structured Cooperation" of the EU ( Pesco ).

content

Member States should:

• undertake to provide help and assistance to one another in all kinds of danger
• systematically align their positions (on defense policy issues)
• coordinate their defense efforts
• develop their military capabilities
• regularly increase their defense spending

Germany and the ESDU

The goal of creating a European Security and Defense Union was laid down in 2003 in the Defense Policy Guidelines of the Federal Ministry of Defense. In the ongoing discussion about the improvement of European security structures and the possible creation of joint European armed forces, both representatives of the SPD and the CDU refer to the concept of the ESDU.

ESDU projects

Initially, 17 projects are said to have been approved. Other sources report 47 project proposals, 10 of which are to be adopted:

• Establishment of a mobile hospital
• Development of the logistics for the relocation of troops and material
• Establishment of a training center for military instructors
• Development of the infrastructure for rapid deployments (including roads, bridges and rail connections that can be used for the transport of heavy goods in the worst-case scenario)

Web links

• ESDU in the EU glossary on the Federal Government's website; Accessed April 4, 2009
• ESVU as part of the ESVP on the homepage of the University of Duisburg-Essen; Accessed April 4, 2009

See also

• EU security union
• Common security and defense policy

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Critical remarks on ESVU on  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Secretariat of the European Convention: "Contribution by Mr. Dominique de Villepin and Mr. Joschka Fischer: Joint Franco-German proposals for the European Convention on European Security and Defense Policy" of November 22, 2002 (PDF, 60kb) ( Memento des original from June 8, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ EU countries decide on closer military cooperation , Spiegel online, December 11, 2017
4. ^ European Defense Union Pesco is taking shape , Handelsblatt, 30 November 2017
5. ↑ EU countries are building a defense union , ZDF today, November 13, 2017
6. ↑ This is what the European Defense Union is all about ( memento of the original dated December 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , MDR, December 13, 2017 
7. ↑ VPR 2003 (PDF, 318kb)
8. ↑ " Capable of Action" - Chancellor Merkel for "European Army", March 23, 2007; Homepage of ngo-online; Accessed April 4, 2009
9. ^ Daniel Friedrich Sturm, "Merkel wants 'common European army'" from March 23, 2007 on Welt.de; Accessed April 4, 2009
10. ↑ Germany commits itself to military projects , Märkische Allgemeine, December 11, 2017
11. ↑ EU countries are building a defense union , ZDF today, November 13, 2017
12. ↑ EU lays foundation stone for defense union , Die Welt / N24, November 13, 2017
13. ↑ 23 EU countries establish military union , Spiegel online, November 13, 2017