Foreign Policy And Trade Regulation - 1862 Words

Over the course of the semester we have discussed the European integration in areas such as justice, currency, foreign policy and trade regulation. As it stands, member nations are incredibly intertwined in common policies which serve to create a unified Europe. However, one large area that has been left untouched by integration has been a common, European military. Though European member states are highly integrated as part of their membership in the EU, Europe’s currently military policies are insufficient, and their inability to create a military force is shaped by issues of sovereignty and identity. In this paper I will examine why Europe struggles to coordinate defense efforts. I will do so by examining the history of European†¦show more content†¦To best understand NATO and the EuroCorps, one must know the evolution of Europe’s military cooperation in conjunction with the Union’s overall integration. Europe’s military policy has been shaped by The Treaty of Brussels, the European Defense Community (EDC), the North Atlantic Treaty, and the Western European Union respectively. In 1947, as part of the aftermath of WW2, Britain and France signed the Treaty of Dunkirk. The two parties agreed to provide mutual assistance to one another in the event that Germany again showed aggressions as it did during the war. The Treaty of Dunkirk was the first treaty of military cooperation in Europe, and it ultimately paved way for the Western European Union. Two weeks after signing the Treaty of Dunkirk, the partnership was extended to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and was renamed the Treaty of Brussels. The Treaty of Brussels contained only ten articles, but its comprehensive content gave the signatories power to defend themselves collectively. Most important to the treaty was Article 4, which stated that if any of the parties should be the object of an armed attack in Europe, the other parties would give necessary military assistance, and provide any other aid they could feasibly give to the country under attack.