The European Council is the arena of the European Union, which gathers all members´ Heads of State or Government to discuss matters of high politics. The European Council sets the political priorities of the Union and is, therefore, influential on policy change. This thesis aims to understand how the European Council influences variations in security and defence policy responses to focusing events.
This thesis uses process-tracing to unpack the agenda of the European Council chronologically. This thesis analyses the perception of security and defence policy and security-related events on the European Council agenda and its connection to developing the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). This thesis will answer the research question: How does the agenda-setting of the European Council influence the EU Common Security and Defence Policy between 2014 and 2023?
The analysis displays more extended periods of stability and shorter periods of disruptions on the European Council agenda. To answer the research question, this thesis suggests that the European Council influence the CSDP significantly more when a focusing event gains disproportionate attention on the agenda, causing the European Council to take more authority over decisions. As the European Council gave more detailed instructions and policy proposals, the CSDP developed. Furthermore, this thesis concludes that the policy image, which is the perception of the CSDP, guided all the work on security and defence policy. After the annexation of Crimea, the European Council triggered policy change by highlighting the deficits of the current policy. The European Council concluded that the security and defence cooperation needed to be enhanced, which set the tone for security and defence policy in the coming years.