The ‘D’ in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) has always been taken for granted with relatively little thought until recently about what it actually means. ‘Defence’, often mentioned alongside security, has an enigmatic quality which has rendered the ‘D’ in CSDP essentially silent. The article posits two inter-related questions. First, in what ways has defence appeared in the European integration narrative, especially more recently? Second, how seriously should advocacy of a common defence for the EU be taken and what are the opportunities and challenges associated with the notion? It will be argued that defence per se is part of the EU’s new level of ambition but the generic use of the term is being rapidly reshaped by geopolitical concerns and possible longer-term changes in transatlantic relations that may lead to a common defence, which is less likely to be a rehashed European Defence Community (EDC) than something based upon variable geometry and permanent structured cooperation.
European Foreign Affairs Review