Abstract
The 3rd and 4th December 1998, the President of French Republic Jacques Chirac and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair met in Saint Malo. Both maintained the necessity to give Europe the ability of autonomous action concerning security and defence. This statement comes within the framework of the development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union during the 1990s. It also shows the building process of a CFSP (common Foreign and security policy) is getting more and more pragmatic. Indeed, the institutional framework for a European voice in international affairs now exists. The EU as an independent actor that stands ready to defend its security interests at the European and global level will have a significant impact upon cooperative security structures at the regional level and beyond. It will alter relations between states as well as international bodies. It will create new security and organizational patterns and somewhat blur the borders between member states.
