(2014-0068-F) Saint Malo Summit

The materials in FOIA 2014-0068-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. The Franco-British Summit held in St. Malo, France on 3 and 4 December 1998, resulted in an agreement known as the Saint-Malo declaration. The realization by the United Kingdom of Europe’s inability to intervene in conflicts like the Kosovo War and also to respond to events beyond Europe such as the Rwandan Genocide of the mid 1990’s, led to the Saint-Malo declaration, signed in December of 1998 between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac. The Saint-Malo declaration as described in a letter from Jean-David Levitte, the diplomatic advisor to French President Chirac, to the National Security Advisor Sandy Berger states that “the Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises.” The European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) that was created by the Saint-Malo declaration was further defined and its name changed to the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) at a later Summit held in Helsinki, Finland in December of 1999. Records that are responsive to this FOIA include press releases, communiques and various drafts of communiques, media reaction reports, cables between US State Department officials and the US Mission to NATO, NSC Staffer emails concerning press guidance, and correspondence to the National Security Advisor, Sandy Berger from Jean-David Levitte, diplomatic advisor to French President Jacques Chirac. The majority of these records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.