The common foreign, security and defence policy is the so-called second pillar of the EU and is entirely within the jurisdiction of the member-countries, because countries unwillingly give up sovereignty in this kind of matters. The EU legislation in this policy chapter is small and consists of political declarations and international agreements.
Damir Kusen, Croatia's negotiator for this policy chapter, said that European Commission officials were interested in Croatia's administrative capacity to implement the common foreign, security and defence policy on the day of its admission to the EU.
No benchmarks for the opening of negotiations are expected in this chapter and it is one of the chapters on which talks are opened and closed on the same day.
The goals of the common, security and defence policy are the protection of common values and basic interests, the strengthening of security, peace and international security, the promotion of international cooperation and the rule of law, and the protection of human rights throughout the world.