Political and Security Committee

European Union

This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the European Union

Parliament President Martin Schulz Largest groups; EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Gianni Pittella) 8th session (2014-19) 751 MEPs Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference Legislative procedure

European Council President Donald Tusk Parties List of meetings

EU Council Presidency Latvia Configurations General Foreign Justice and Home Economic Euro Legislative procedure Voting Secretariat Secretary-General Uwe Corsepius Directorates-general COREPER

Commission Juncker Comm. President Jean-Claude Juncker Vice Presidents Frans Timmermans Federica Mogherini Kristalina Georgieva Jyrki Katainen Valdis Dombrovskis Andrus Ansip Maroš Šefčovič Commissioners Civil Service Secretary-General Catherine Day

Court of Justice Court of Justice General Court Civil Service Tribunal Members Rulings

Central Bank Central Bank President ESCB Euro EMU Eurozone

Court of Auditors Court of Auditors Budget OLAF

Agencies

Other bodies Investment Bank CoR EESC Ombudsman National parliaments

Policies and issues Budget Four Freedoms Economic area Single market Area of FS&J Schengen Policies Agricultural Energy Fisheries Regional Citizenship Identity Pro-Europeanism Euroscepticism Integration Supranationalism Federalism United States of Europe Multi-speed Opt-outs Enhanced co-op Withdrawal

Foreign relations High Representative Federica Mogherini Ext. Action Service Foreign Policy Defence Policy Enlargement

Elections 1979, 1984, 1989 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 2014 (last election) Political parties Constituencies Referendums

Law Acquis Primacy Subsidiarity Treaties Fundamental Rights Membership

The Political and Security Committee, PSC (sometimes referred to by its French COPS acronym derived from Comité politique et de sécurité) is a permanent body within the European Union dealing with Common Foreign and Security Policy issues, including Common Security and Defence Policy.^[1]

PSC, which is based in Brussels, consists of ambassadorial level representatives from the EU member states and usually meets twice per week.^[2] From 2010 to Summer 2013 it has been chaired by an EEAS official; Olof Skoog.^[3]

Functions

The main functions of the PSC are keeping track of the international situation, and helping to define EU policies within the CFSP and CSDP.^[4] PSC sends guidance to, and receives advice from the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (CIVCOM) as well as the European Union Institute for Security Studies. It is also a forum for dialogue on CSDP matters between the EU Member States.

PSC also drafts opinions for the Foreign Affairs Council, which is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union. CFSP matters are passed to the Foreign Affairs Council via COREPER II.

History

The creation of the PSC was a result of the Treaty of Amsterdam, after which the establishment of the PSC was agreed in principle in December 1999, at the Helsinki European Council. PSC was first established as an interim body in 2000, but in December 2000, at the Nice European Council it was agreed to make it permanent.^[1] The formal decision to set up the PSC was taken on January 22, 2001, by the Council of the European Union.^[5]

The PSC replaced the previous Political Committee, which met less frequently, and consisted of representatives from the Member States' capitals rather than Brussels-based ambassadors.^[2]

References

See also

• European Union Institute for Security Studies

Foreign relations of the European Union   Bilateral relations Africa & the Middle East Cape Verde Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco Palestine† South Africa Syria Yemen Americas Argentina Brazil Canada Cuba Greenland Mexico United States Asia-Pacific Australia China (People's Republic of) Fiji India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Nepal North Korea Pakistan Philippines South Korea Europe & Central Asia Albania Andorra Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Faroe Islands Georgia Iceland Kazakhstan Kosovo† Liechtenstein Macedonia‡ Moldova Monaco Montenegro Northern Cyprus (Turkish Republic of)† Norway Russia San Marino Serbia Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Vatican City General Members’ overseas territories Largest trading partners Association agreements Free trade agreements †= Disputed state, may not be recognised as an independent state by some or all European Union members. ‡= Name disputed by Greece, EU recognises the Republic of Macedonia as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.   Multilateral relations and initiatives Organisations Arab League ASEAN ECHR G8 ICC United Nations Initiatives African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Asia–Europe Meeting CARIFORUM Customs Union Eastern Partnership Energy Community Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly European Common Aviation Area European Economic Area Euro-Mediterranean free trade area Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Euronest Economic Partnership Agreements EU CBRN Risk Mitigation CoE Initiative Neighbourhood Policy Northern Dimension Mediterranean Union Stabilisation and Association Process   Organisation Policy Common Foreign and Security Policy Economic Relations Everything but Arms Security and Defence Policy Enlargement Actors ECHO EuropeAid External Action Service Foreign Affairs Council High Representative Catherine Ashton Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Foreign Policy Instruments Service Diplomatic missions of the EU / to the EU Ambassadors Special Representatives   Military and security Initiatives Defence Initiative Synchronised Armed Forces Defence Procurement Petersberg tasks Helsinki Headline Goal Structures Political and Security Committee Military Committee Military Staff Operations Centre Security & Defence College Defence Agency Institute for Security Studies Satellite Centre Joint Situation Centre Forces European Union Force Eurofor Eurocorps EU Battlegroup EU Gendarmerie Force EU Maritime Force Deployments