The EU in Libya and the collapse of the CSDP

This article aims at exploring the unwillingness of the EU member states to sponsor a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) joint action within the EU framework as a response to the violence against civilians which erupted in Libya in 2011. It investigates the attitudes of Britain, France, Germany and Italy, as representative of the EU/27, toward the developments in Libya and a possible CSDP’s crisis-management operation. It discusses the assumption that the CSDP was prey to the member states’ wishes. The article avails itself of official documents from the UNSC, the European Union, EU laws, EU officials and prime ministers’ speeches, together with several interviews.