International demand for military crisis-management missions continues to grow and demand for troops continues to outstrip supply. Like other Western democracies, European Union member states, because of their wealth, relative military competence and commitment to human rights, bear a particular responsibility to expand the international communitys capacity for action. But while the EU has succeeded in defining a complex military-technical and political-strategic framework to boost its role and that of its member states in crisis management, its performance so far has fallen well short of its ambitions. This paper analyses what the EU wants to be able to do militarily its level of ambition and contrasts this aspiration with the current reality. To explain the gap between the two, the paper examines national ambitions and performance across the EU and analyses their domestic determinants using the examples of Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom. The paper concludes by suggesting that the EU might need to strike a new balance between the inclusiveness and the effectiveness of its activities in this area if it wants to increase its military crisis-management performance and live up to its declared ambitions.

This book analyzes both NATO’s and the EU’s military crisis management operations and provides an explanation for the fact that it is sometimes NATO, sometimes the EU, and sometimes both international organizations that intervene militarily in a conflict. In detailed case studies on Libya, Chad/Central African Republic, and the Horn of Africa, Claudia Fahron-Hussey shows that the capabilities and preferences of the organizations matter most and the organizations’ bureaucratic actors influence the decision-making process of the member states.

Assesses the EU and NATO's tools to prevent conflicts and manage international crises. It offers a unique insight into European security policy and questions the realism of the political goals. It argues for more coordination among European states, and an enhancement of the EU's strategic decision-making capabilities.

In less than a decade, Europe has witnessed a series of large-scale natural disasters and two major terrorist attacks. Growing concern about the trans-national effects of these incidents has caused the EU Member States to seek more multilateral cooperation. As a result, a system of common arrangements for handling large-scale emergencies or disasters has emerged, which, due to its quick and ad-hoc development, may seem almost impenetrable to newcomers to the field. This book seeks to provide a much-needed overview of disaster and crisis management systems in the EU. It provides a basic understanding of how EU policy has evolved, the EU’s mandate, and above all, a concise and hands-on description of the most central crisis management arrangements. Written by some of Europe’s main experts and consultants in the field, this book represents a unique and comprehensive source of information for everyone involved or interested in the European Union crisis management system. "This book will quickly become an indispensable resource for two groups: Practitioners will enjoy its accessible and comprehensive style. Academics curious about this emerging field will turn to it for an introductory overview. As someone who closely studies this field, I find the book engaging, detailed, and accurate, and I read every line with great interest. The authors are to be commended for the quality of research that went into this work." Mark Rhinard, Senior Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI)

The European Union's civilian-military capabilities -- The EU's civilian aspirations -- Basic structures -- General record so far -- Police missions -- Rule of law missions -- Monitoring missions -- Civil administration missions -- Security sector reform -- Civilian response teams -- EUPOL Afghanistan -- EULEX Kosovo -- Overcoming the EU's staffing problems -- EU added value on civilian missions : generic considerations -- EU's added value : considerations for the United States -- The NATO-EU impasse -- Military vs. civilian?

The purpose of this book is to analyse the EU's international crisis management capabilities, particularly its military dimension, using what are known as the Petersberg tasks. These capabilities' legal framework is part of Europe's new security and defence context in international relations. In our book we analyse the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in the EU Treaty, and the relations between the EU and WEU and NATO; the conception, institutional structure and legal basis of so called Petersberg tasks; the practice of this kind of operations in international crisis management; we also analyse the civilian crisis management tasks in order to identify common points and divergences with regard to military actions, and finally we describe the Petersberg tasks' future prospects, with special references to the EU's military-civilian capabilities. Our ultimate goal is to identify, systematise and conduct a legal study of EU military operations, in order to grasp the scope of its involvement in international security and peace-keeping issues, and obtain the keys that explain the current situation as well as future prospects.