Abstract
The European Union has for long been regarded as a political light-weight in international relations, explained in large part by the absence of a common foreign policy and a common defence and security policy. As a political community of sovereign member states, it remains reluctant to mobilise the financial resources and indeed the political commitment to launch even the most basic defence force. Months after the US-Iraq war ended in the Spring of 2003, the EU was still struggling with the establishment of the promised Rapid Reaction Force, a unit intended for peace- keeping and humanitarian efforts in trouble spots around the world.