Terms of Reference – Evaluation of the Dutch policy with regard to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy

The Netherlands and the EU are at a crossroads with respect to the focus of their security and defence policies and are facing new strategic choices. Therefore the independent Policy and Operations Evaluations Department (IOB) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs started an evaluation with regard to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) covering the period from 2013-2019.

The objective of this research is to map the challenges the Netherlands has faced and to derive lessons from them. The evaluation is part of an overall evaluation of section 2, ‘Security and Stability’, of the budget of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The evaluation will focus on three main themes:

  • The role of the CSDP, in relation to NATO, in the European security architecture;
  • The strengthening of military and civilian capabilities of the CSDP;
  • The CSDP and the integrated approach, with a focus on cases in the Horn of Africa – EUNAVFOR Atalanta, EUTM Somalia and EUCAP Somalia.