CSDP between internal constraints and external challenges: the road ahead

The EUISS, in collaboration with King´s College London, organised a conference entitled ‘CSDP between internal constraints and external challenges: the road ahead’ that took place in London on 19 and 20 September. Bringing together a select group of practitioners from the EEAS and EU member states, as well as experts from think tanks and universities from across Europe, the conference aimed to develop a series of practical proposals that can be fed into debates leading up to the December 2013 European Council. The conference programme consisted of plenary sessions and individual working groups. Plenary sessions were animated, inter alia, by Pierre Vimont, Secretary-General of the EEAS, Maciej Popowski, Deputy Secretary-General of the EEAS, and LtGen Wolfgang Wosolsobe, Director-General of the EU Military Staff of the EEAS. A keynote speech by The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Saltaire, Spokesperson of the Lords for the Cabinet Office and Whip responsible for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), then outlined the UK perspective on European defence.