The Common Foreign and Security Policy, or CFSP, was established as the second of the three pillars of the European Union in the Maastricht treaty of 1992, and further defined and broadened in the Amsterdam Treaty of 1999. It superseded the European Political Cooperation.

The CFSP sees NATO responsible for territorial defence of Europe and "peace-making" while since 1999 the European Union is responsible for implementation missions; i.e. peace-keeping, policing of treaties etc.