Annual Conference 2010
The Annual Conferences are an opportunity to look into the more longer-term developments of the EU and they are also the core events of the ESRT annual activities
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The 5th Annual Conference of the ESRT on 22 June dealt with concrete issues pertaining to the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. In cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the full-day conference discussed key issues in the area of security and defence.
Together with the double-hatting of the High Representative/Vice-President, the External Action Service was supposed to become the major step forward in foreign and security policy. However, the more concrete the new institutional structures get, the more high-flying hopes give way to more realistic views of the real improvement for European security and defence policy. During the Annual Conference, MEP Mr. Elmar Brok and MEP Mr. Roberto Gualtieri reported the results of their meeting with HR/VP Catherine Ashton about the EEAS.
Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence (PSCD) was meant to open a door for more integrative steps also in the defence area. In the meantime, there are serious doubts as to the feasibility of such an undertaking. Some Member States are working very hard to find realistic ways forward for Permanent Structured Cooperation. For the keynote speech, the Belgian Minister for Defence, Pieter De Crem, underlined the intention of the Belgian presidency to make Permanent Structure Cooperation its focus.
A third topic of the Annual Conference was the legitimacy of CSDP operation. The European Union has by now undertaken more than 20 such mission, civilian and military. Special political and military setups have been created to accommodate political realities and the efficiency of these structures is discussed again and again. However, next to efficiency, legitimacy is a key factor in successful operations abroad. The panel on this topic discussed how legitimacy is created and what can be done by the various actors involved to increase legitimacy of CSDP operations.
| Topic | Date |
|---|---|
| European Security Round Table Annual Conference | 22 June 2010 |
PICTURES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010
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The Annual Conferences are an opportunity to look into the long-term developments of the EU. For further information please visit our previous conferences.
