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Abstract: EUROPE'S IDENTITY IN TERMS OF CSDP HAS EVOLVED A LOT SINCE THE TREATY OF LISBON BUT UNFORTUNATELY NOT ALL THE ELEMENTS THAT WERE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AND SUSTAIN EU'S ROLE AS A GLOBAL PLAYER WERE PUT TO ACTION. THIS CONTRIBUTION AIMS AT DEPICTING THE MAIN LANDMARKS AND OBSTACLES THAT CHARACTERIZES THIS PROCESS OF REACHING CONSENSUS IN AN AREA USUALLY PLACED IN THE ADMINISTRATION AND DISCRETION OF THE MEMBER STATES, NOW AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE APPROACH OF SHARED SOVEREIGNTY. STARTING WITH THE BENEVOLENT FORMULA OF ENHANCED COOPERATION AND EVOLVING INTO A MUCH SHARPER FORM OF COLLABORATION CALLED PERMANENT STRUCTURED COOPERATION, THE WHOLE FRAMEWORK OF A COMMON EUROPEAN GRAND STRATEGY FOR SECURITY AND DEFENCE IS STILL FAR FROM REACHING ITS FULL POTENTIAL OR MATURITY.
Keynotes: enhanced cooperation, Permanent Structured Cooperation, CSDP, community method.
Introduction
About 2 decades ago the Treaty of Amsterdam brought forward the concept of enhanced cooperation, which was, for the years to come, a perfect representation on how the European integration process could advance in times of political uncertainty, lack of trust, different perspective on behalf of the Member States or limited consensus on the future prospects of the EU's governance system itself.
Seen as a compromising version, this enhanced cooperation, served the purpose of avoiding institutional blockage for a vast array of initiatives and policies that in terms of regional impact have meant a lot for the development of a European ethos. The enhanced cooperation was provided with a legal framework in order to stem future integration projects, the central aim being that of gathering European states around similar topics that needed pragmatic approaches and solutions.
Means of integration from enhanced cooperation to Permanent Structured Cooperation
The essence of this Community project can be found in other European initiatives, such as the Schengen Agreement of 1985, The Single European Act of 1986, or the Treaty of Maastricht, all of them dedicated to building support around some major lines of sectoral and cross-sectoral integration.
Once established, this form of enhanced cooperation signaled the capability of the European states to create substance for the integration process mainly through a voluntary basis and some flexible means and technics. In order to be advanced the enhanced cooperation needs a minimum of nine EU states...