EN
The contemporary threats such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, ethnic, asymmetric or local conflicts, or international terrorism forced the EU member states to take joint defensive action. Although, at the beginning, the development of the European Security and Defence Policy was slow, after 1999, it accelerated and was regulated in subsequent treaties. While analysing the development of the ESDP, it should be observed that the EU spared no effort to design a common defence policy for its member states. The paper shows the main principles of The European Security and Defence Policy. The author also presents legal acts which contain regulations related to the discussed topic.