The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is the organised, agreedforeign policyof the European Union(EU) for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of theEU's external relations, which domains include mainlyTrade and Commercial Policyand other areas such asfundingto third countries, etc. Decisions require unanimity amongmember statesin theCouncil of the European Union, rtain aspects can be further decided by qualified majority voting. Foreign policy is chaired and represented by the EU'sHigh Representative, currentlyFederica Mogherini (Wikipedia, 2018).

The CFSP sees theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation(NATO) as responsible for the territorial defence of Europe and reconciliation. However, since 1999, the European Union is responsible for implementing missions such as peacekeeping and policing of treaties. A phrase often used to describe the relationship between the EU forces and NATO is "separable, but not separate".The same forces and capabilities form the basis of both EU and NATO efforts, but portions can be allocated to the European Union if necessary.

Objectives

According to Article J.1 of title V of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union defines and implements a common foreign and security policy that covers all areas of foreign and security policy, the objectives of which are to:

• Safeguard the common values, fundamental interests, independence and integrity of the Union in conformity with the principles of the United Nations Charter;
• Strengthen the security of the Union in all ways;
• Preserve peace and strengthen international security, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter, as well as the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and the objectives of the Paris Charter, including those on external borders;
• Promote international co-operation;
• Develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms (Wikipedia, 2018).

Elements:

Types of policy. The European Council defines the principles and general guidelines for the CFSP as well as common strategies to be implemented by the EU. On the basis of those guidelines the Council of Ministers adopts joint actionsorcommon positions. Joint actionsaddress specific situations where operation action by the EU is considered necessary and lay down the objectives, scope and means to be made available to the EU. They commit the member states. Common positionson the other hand, define the approach that the EU takes on a certain matter of geographical or thematic nature, and define in the abstract the general guidelines to which the national policies of Member states must conform.

High Representative. The High Representative, in conjunction with the President of the European Council, speaks on behalf of the EU in agreed foreign policy matters and can have the task of articulating ambiguous policy positions created by disagreements among member states. The Common Foreign and Security Policy requires unanimity among the now 28-member states on the appropriate policy to follow on any particular policy. Disagreements in CFSP, such as those that occurred over the war in Iraq, are not uncommon (Wikipedia, 2018).

Bodies. There are a number of bodies set up within the context of the CFSP. Within the Council, there is the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) configuration, essentially a meeting of foreign ministers and the Political and Security Committeeor PSC, which monitors the international situation in the areas covered by the CFSP and contributes by delivering opinions to the Council of Ministers, either at its request or its own initiative, and also monitors the implementation of agreed policies.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) encourages increase in defence capabilities, military research and the establishment of a European internal market for military technology. Two bodies carried over from the Western European Union(see defence, below) are the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and the European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC). The EUISS is the European Union's in-house think tank. Its mission is to find a common security culture for the EU, to help develop and project the CFSP, and to enrich Europe's strategic debate. The EUSC is providing analysis of satellite imagery and collateral data.

World Bank Group Experts Help Countries Compete in Global Markets

1. An environment that fosters private-sector growth is vital to firms’ ability to compete on international markets. 
2. Competitiveness is central to job-creation and, ultimately, to the World Bank’s goals of eliminating poverty and increasing shared prosperity. 
3. The World Bank Group has developed a range of tools for policy-makers to better understand and exploit a wide range of factors that impact competitiveness, including countries' export composition, export sophistication level, and export diversification. 

In recent years, support of trade growth has moved beyond trade policy to embrace a wider set of 'behind the border' issues, focused on establishing an environment conducive to the emergence of firms that are competitive in both export and domestic markets. Competitiveness is central to stimulating private sector growth and job-creation. This, in turn, is vital to the World Bank Group’s twin goals of eliminating poverty and increasing the incomes of the poorest 40 percent in countries around the world. Better integration in global flows of trade and investment helps firms to be competitive and, in turn, generate higher incomes through better-paid jobs.

Trade competitiveness is no longer about viewing exports and export performance in isolation. Increasingly, it is the result of strong interdependencies between imports and exports, as well as international flows of capital, investment, and know-how. In addition, modern, competitive services are vital as intermediate inputs to a high-performing private sector. Indeed, the interactions between all of these factors determine firm productivity. Through trade and foreign investment, developing countries can benefit from a range of ideas that come from abroad: intellectual property, trademarks, managerial and business practices, marketing expertise, and organizational models. The flows of goods, services, people, ideas, and capital are now interdependent and should be assessed jointly.

Finally, a phenomenon important to developing countries is the emergence and endurance of global value chain (GVC) production. The flow of know-how from developed to developing countries often takes place in the context of vertical trade and production chains that cross many borders from raw material to finished product. Taking advantage of that structure is a key determinant of industrial development in the 21^st century. Developing countries can now industrialize by joining GVCs instead of building their own value chain from scratch, as Japan and the Republic of Korea had to do in the 20th century.

In this context, World Bank Group experts provide research, analytical work and other country-specific assistance to country officials trying to address barriers to firm productivity and to private industry’s competitiveness in the international marketplace. Understanding how trade flows work and how they contribute to countries’ industrialization through GVCs is a fundamental precondition to ensure that the countries deliver pro-development outcomes. World Bank Group experts help developing countries’ policymakers and private sector leaders better understand and take advantage of this dynamic.

For example, the World Bank Group can help countries perform analysis of the determinants of their competitiveness in the international markets (i.e. trade competitiveness). Professional technical assistance can identify drivers of growth and the relative importance of different factors of production, including technology, access to foreign vs domestic assets, etc. The World Bank’s trade experts can perform firm-level analyses of trade and trade determinants, which look at trade and productivity jointly. These techniques have proven important to better understanding productivity and export performance.

The World Bank’s technical assistance also can include concrete proposals for embedding national GVC policies into broader portfolios of policies aimed at upgrading skills, physical and regulatory infrastructure, and enhancing social cohesion. It also helps countries better understand whether entry into GVCs furthers development goals, such as enhancing job prospects for workers at home.