Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1,0, Free University of Berlin (Otto-Suhr-Institut fur Politikwissenschaft), 49 entries in the bibliography, language: English, comment: A common European approach in security matters within the EU is a historical undertaking. Why did such an approach materialise in 1999? The paper identifies shifts in British domestic configurations as the main reason for this. Change in government, new ideas, epistemic communities and the Kosovo crisis play a role. 49 bibliographical entries., abstract: A common European approach in security matters is a historical undertaking for the European Union. Why did such an approach (ESDP) materialise in 1999? Special attention has to be drawn to the role of the United Kingdom, for in the 1990s it was the one major European actor who constantly objected any steps toward European security integration. The paper identifies shifts in British domestic configurations as the main source for the subsequent preference shift in UK foreign policy. While the Kosovo crisis played the role of an external catalyst, change in government, the influence of an epistemic community, and new ideas are of deeper importance.