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 The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

dealing with Common Foreign and Security Policy issues, including Common Security and Defence Policy.Europa glossary: Political and Security Committee (PSC)
, accessed on April 21, 2008 PSC, which is based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, consists of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

ial-level representatives from all the EU Member States and usually meets twice per week.France-Diplomatie: The main bodies specific to the CFSP: The Political and Security Committee
accessed on April 21, 2008 The PSC is chaired by the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...

(EEAS).

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. 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 The European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) is the EU’s think tank for foreign and security policy. Its core mission is to provide analysis on security and defence issues, and organise discussion forums to help formulate EU p ...

. It is also a forum for dialogue on CSDP matters between the EU Member States. The PSC drafts opinions for the

Foreign Affairs Council The Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) is a configuration of the Council of the European Union that convenes once a month. Meetings bring together the foreign ministers of the member states. Ministers responsible for European affairs, defence, developm ...

, which is one of the configurations of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

. CFSP matters are passed to the Foreign Affairs Council via

COREPER COREPER, from French ''Comité des représentants permanents'', is the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union, made up of the head or deputy head of mission from the EU member states in Brussels. COREPER's defined role ...

II.

Role in command and control of missions

History

The creation of the PSC was a result of the

Treaty of Amsterdam The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

, after which the establishment of the PSC was agreed in principle in December 1999, at the

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

European Council. PSC was first established as an interim body in 2000. In December 2000, at the

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

it was agreed to make it permanent. The formal decision to set up the PSC was taken on January 22, 2001, by the

.Activities of the European Union: Summaries of Legislation: Political and Security Committee (PSC)
accessed on April 21, 2008 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. On 22 March 2021, the committee was sanctioned by the Chinese government after the European Union imposed sanctions on China over

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

Chair

In 2010 Ambassador Olof Skoog (Sweden) was appointed by the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton to serve as the first Permanent Chair of the EU Political and Security Committee. He served until September 2013 when he was replaced by Walter Stevens (Belgium).

References

External links