Introduction

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is authorised to take action in accordance with international law, including resorting to the use of armed force, in order to address threats to international peace and security (Article 42 of the United Nations Charter). The collaboration between the European Union (EU) and the relevant parties has played a pivotal role in upholding world peace and security and this partnership is merely one facet of the various modes of cooperation established between these two entities. As concerns the EU, both military operations and civilian missions are carried out specifically within the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) framework for EU external action (Title V, Lisbon Treaty). Despite an existing and solid legal framework, which establishes that to launch missions and operations the approval of all Member States through a Council Decision is required, the EU has primarily operated within the framework of the UNSC to obtain the requisite legitimacy and reaffirm the Union’s attachment to international law and multilateralism (Klocker, 2021; EEAS, 2021). This strategy effectively gives non-EU states veto power over EU military deployments during a period of escalating geopolitical tension, which may make it incompatible with the goal of increased strategic autonomy for Europe.