At their 1999 summit in Helsinki, EU member states stated their ‘determination to develop an autonomous capacity to take decisions and, where NATO as a whole is not engaged, to launch and conduct EU-led military operations in response to international crises’. Through this declaration, the basis of European Security and Defence Policy, their common strategic objectives were defined: military capabilities, autonomy and a capacity for quick reaction. Will the Lisbon Treaty enable these aims set out nearly ten years ago to be attained?
