From Feira to Nice: more bonnes paroles?

The conclusion of the Portuguese Presidency at Feira represents the latest stage in a process set into motion eighteen months earlier. The implications of the Feira conclusions for the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) fall more into the maximalist camp (meaning that there is a need for significant treaty revision) given the ambitious deadline of the ‘Headline Goals’. It is argued that the Amsterdam treaty revisions did not provide for sufficient flexibility in the security and defence areas and it is therefore imperative that treaty revision be addressed, even in the recesses of the ‘parallel’ IGC meeting on CFSP. Importantly, this effort must also be supported by the commitment of the necessary resources at the Capabilities Commitment Conference in November. Failure to do so risks ESDP becoming no more than bonnes paroles