« International Peace and Security as a Normative Value of the EU Foreign Policy – CSDP Missions»

After an overview of the practice concerning civilian and military CSDP operations, this paper argues that international peace and security is a EU normative value, a broad legal principle in particular, in the sense that EU institutions are legally bound to pursue and promote it throughout the world. It is moreover suggested that, as a matter of its internal validity, EU may not launch peace keeping operations, including enforcement actions or peace enforcement operation falling under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, without a Se- curity Council authorization or welcoming. However, the consent of the host State gov- ernment suffices as long as the CSDP operation is purely civilian. Certainly, the EU does not deliver on the promise of universal peace and security. That is due to the inadequacy of the current EU legal framework, which after all reflects a strong political division of prospects and interests among Member States.