European defence integration: a comparison of support in Belgium

'European defence integration: a comparison of support in Belgium and the Netherlands' In the 1990s the EU established the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) as a major element of its foreign policy. Further defence integration may yet be to come, but member states are in general unwilling to give up sovereignty. In this study the stances towards European defence integration of two neighbouring EU member states are examined: Belgium and the Netherlands. Their views towards defence integration are put in a historical perspective and followed by an analysis of their present stances, based on literature study and interviews with officials at the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Furthermore an explanation is sought for their different stances.