EU SECURITY AND DEFENCE POLICY

With the termination of the Cold War came drastic changes in the international community, and thereby came changes in the geographic strategic position of Europe. In order to answer all contemporary political, economical and military challenges of the leading European state, the integration processes intensifi ed because only a unifi ed Europe can answer global challenges and ensure Europe the position and role which objectively belongs to it. The political and economic integration of European states in the EU would be unthoughtof without integration also in a military sense. Joint defence and the formation of joint EU military forces could be implemented only under the condition that the member states consensually accept a unitary security- defence policy and strategy. In this paper, the authors analyses the development of the integration processes in the area of military and security from the initial ideas to current practical implementation and operationalisation of the security-defence policy and strategy. Special attention is given to the analysis of the development of the WEU and EU military forces. Their current state, role, position and use as well as all open questions and problems which the idea of joint defence could bring into question are analysed