Nicola Chelotti is LSE Fellow in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.

Introduction 1 Actors and decision-making processes of EU foreign and defence policy 2 Theories and the CFSP/CSDP decision-making process 3 Profiles, Working Habits and Experience of EU Diplomats 4 Preparing the national position: the capital-Brussels nexus 5 Identities: a diplomatic republic of Europe? 6 Decision-making styles and practices Conclusion

EU foreign and defence policy is largely formulated in the working parties and committees of the Council of the EU and the vast majority of decisions in this field are made by the national diplomats working in the around 35 groups of the CFSP/CSDP.

Although the importance of these committees and their participants has been increasingly recognised, we still know relatively little about them. Using an original database of 138 questionnaires and 37 interviews, this book addresses this lack of knowledge, studying what these committees do and how they negotiate and resolve issues. It explores three key areas:

• the formulation of the national position;
• the identity of CFSP/CSDP policy-makers;
• negotiation practices and outputs.

In doing so, it provides an innovative observation point from which EU foreign policy can be analysed.