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UACES Lecture on the Future of Europe

Gérard Errera, Secrétaire Général, Quai d'Orsay

France and ESDP (European Security & Defence Policy):
St Malo, Ten Years Later

The UACES Lecture was delivered by Gérard Errera, French Ambassador to the UK from 2002 to 2007 and now Secretary General of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Quai d'Orsay).

Ten years ago, at St Malo, France and Britain took a bold initiative in their bilateral Defence cooperation. But it was not just a significant step for two countries. It marked a new phase in institutional integration and practical cooperation for the European Union as a whole. On that foundation has been built the growing EU role in security and defence, including active peacekeeping in many parts of the world, most recently in Chad.

In the Lisbon Treaty the European Union is seeking to strengthen its coherence as a global actor in foreign and security policy. The treaty offers the framework for more effective coordination, action and intervention. But it is the member states who have to provide the means and, above all, the will.

Gerard Errera, formerly France’s Ambassador in London and now Secretary General at the Quai d’Orsay, was one of the main authors and negotiators of the St Malo Agreement. On the eve of the French Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, Ambassador Errera poses the question: Is Europe’s will and capacity for action equal to the challenge and the tasks which confront us?

The lecture was jointly organised with the European Policy Centre (EPC) and was held at the Résidence Palace (Polak Room), 155 rue de la Loi, 1040 Brussels.

Contact: Sue Davis (sedavis[a]uaces.org)

Last Modified: Tuesday, 18 March 2008
idD410820  +21 November 2007  ©UACES 2007