The Saint-Malo declaration was a

document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

signed in December 1998 by British

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

and French President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

, who met to advance the creation of a European security and defense policy, including a European military force capable of autonomous action. The summit where the document was signed took place at the French coastal resort of

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

. The Saint-Malo declaration was a response to the armed conflict in Kosovo in the late 1990s, in which the international community, and especially 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 ...

and its member states, were perceived to have failed to intervene to stop the conflict. A year later, as a direct consequence of the Saint-Malo summit, a "Headline Goal" was formulated in Helsinki, setting 2003 as a target date for the creation of a European force of up to 60,000 troops.

References

{{France–United Kingdom relations 1998 documents 1998 in international relations 1998 in France Common Security and Defence Policy Declarations of the European Union Kosovo War France and the European Union United Kingdom and the European Union France–United Kingdom relations Tony Blair Jacques Chirac Declaration

See also

References