Abstract
The European defense department has a long history, and has been through many ups and downs. The Western European Union's (WEU) the first attempt at a common European alliance was superseded by NATO. The EDC (European defense Community) was another attempt at a unified European Defense which failed in 1952. During the 1990s, the NATO affirmed that one of its priorities was to develop a European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) within NATO. This, basically, means that NATO was supporting the creation of coherent military and effective forces that could operate under the control of the WEU. On December 4, 1998, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and French President Jacques Chirac approved the building of ESDI within NATO and the close cooperation between NATO and WEU at a summit in Saint-Malo. The Saint-Malo summit introduced a new European military strategy, and can be considered as the birth of ESDP.
