(2020-0252-F) Phil Gordon and ESDI

The materials in FOIA 2020-0252-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. This FOIA request was for records related to European Defense and Security Identity (ESDI) in the records of Phil Gordon. Philip Gordon holds a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. During the Clinton administration he was a Director of European Affairs in the National Security Council for only one year (1998-1999). The ESDI came about as changes within the European Union (EU) became manifest. In 1995 Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU. None of these three countries were, however, original signatories to NATO. As part of the NATO ministerial in Berlin in 1996, NATO began to explore a way to increase flexibility of operations within its organizations and to address treaty obligations across signatory and non-signatory states. As a July 1, 2000 NATO Review article notes, the intention was to create “separable but not separate” operations within NATO. In December 1999 at Helsinki, Finland, the European Council of the European Union met to discuss, among other topics, how non-NATO signatory parties could operate under the auspices of NATO and also outside of the influence of other NATO member states. In other words, under ESDI the countries of the EU or the Western European Union (WEU) could conduct their own security operations and Combined Joint Task Forces (CJTF). Records in this FOIA case consist of administrative paperwork, correspondence, speeches, reports, and memoranda all relating to the ESDI and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).