fact files" "
In 1954, the project for the European Defence Community (EDC) failed due to the political divisions between the then six members of the European Coal and Steel Community. A year later the Western European Union was established, equipped with a wider mandate and forms of partnership. In 1992, the Treaty of Maastricht conferred new competencies on matters of foreign policy and common security (PESC) on the European Union. Then, in 1997, the Treaty of Amsterdam gave a mandate to the European Council to take decisions on matters of European security and defence policy (PESD). The Treaty of Nice (26 February 2001) conferred full legitimacy on the decision-making process in the sector of common defence that can count on a political Committee and a military Committee. Full operational capacity will be achieved in 2003 with the birth of the EU’s “rapid reaction force”, which will also make viable the defence of the territory of member States, currently not envisaged. The Institute on the Security of the Western European Union (WEU), which became, following the European Council in Nice, an independent agency of the European Union, has the triple objective of carrying out research and analysis on European security and defence policy, contributing to the debate on questions of European security and creating a network between and with national institutes of a similar nature.
