One of the most significant events of the past years relevant to European security and defence was the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. Although the basic intergovernmental nature of CSDP remained, the Treaty brought along several major changes. The Lisbon Treaty renamed the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) as the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and it established the office of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The High Representative serves as Commissioner for External Relations and chairs the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). In fulfilling his/her mandate, the High Representative relies on the newly established European External Action Service (EEAS).

The European Security Strategy (ESS) – adopted by the European Council in December 2003 and updated in 2008 – has become a strategic framework for the use of the CSDP tools. The EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy (European Global Strategy - EGS) which emphasizes creating new partnerships and strengthening the existing ones in order to face the challenges in the world more effectively was launched in 2016.

The Czech Republic’s positions and interests within the CSDP are defined in the Security Strategy, the Foreign Policy Concept and in the Czech Republic’s Defence Strategy. It is in the interest of the Czech Republic that the EU should be able, if necessary, to respond and act independently. The Czech Republic therefore supports the development of a complex, effective and operational CSDP which would be complementary to NATO. Other priorities of the Czech Republic include systematic support of partner countries and regional organizations in their capability-building processes. This kind of cooperation can help the countries (or regional organizations) to solve crises and newly-emerged conflicts independently. For example, the Czech Republic joined an initiative led by a group of member states on Capacity Building in Support of Security and Development (CBSD). Since 1 July 2020 the Czech Republic has also been a member of the European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management in Berlin, which aims to foster cooperation in all aspects of civilian crisis management, including preparation and training of civilian personnel. The Czech Republic participates in civilian missions and military operations to strengthen the EU’s defence and security capabilities in third countries, and it expects to be involved in missions and operations in the future. Currently, the Czech experts are present in eight of the total of seventeen missions and operations.

All interested candidates to missions and international organizations are encouraged to register through the NKM Management.