Page "Council of the European Union" Paragraph 14

The legal instruments used by the Council for the Common Foreign and Security Policy are different from the legislative acts.

Under the CFSP they consist of " common positions ", " joint actions ", and " common strategies ".

Common positions relate to defining a European foreign policy towards a particular third-country such as the promotion of human rights and democracy in Burma, a region such as the stabilisation efforts in the African Great Lakes, or a certain issue such as support for the International Criminal Court.

A common position, once agreed, is binding on all EU states who must follow and defend the policy, which is regularly revised.

A joint action refers to a co-ordinated action of the states to deploy resources in order to achieve an objective, for example for mine clearing or to combat the spread of small arms.

Common strategies defined an objective and commits the EUs resources to that task for four years.