EUROPEAN COMMON DEFENCE A NEW CHALLENGE FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The efforts for peace at the end of the Second World War were based on the belief that only through "European unification" was there hope for an end to a chapter in Europe's recent history of war, bloodshed and destruction. The supreme objectives of safeguarding peace, but also of economic unification, contained in the Constitutive Treaties of the European Communities were impregnated with the fundamental intention of ensuring peace. The Treaties that gave birth to the European Communities and the Union confirm that the goal of peace has succeeded, and that a violent confrontation between Member States is currently unlikely. On the other hand, the conflicts that have affected the former Yugoslavia have shown that peace and democracy in Europe are not as obvious as they seemed. The Yugoslav crisis has also shown that it is vital to act in support of peace beyond the borders of the conflict-free zone within the European Union. The paper aims to analyze the evolution of the concept of common European defence, in order to identify features and trends of the European security environment that can provide an image of the future options of the European Union in the field of defence.