Article published in Le Monde diplomatique following the Cologne European Council held on 3 and 4 June 1999. Bernard Cassen briefly outlines the history of European defence since the end of the Second World War and is critical of a European Union which is unable to make its voice heard in the area of defence because it is divided between supporters of an independent European power giving WEU the role of military arm of the CFSP, and supporters of a transatlantic partnership with the United States thus favouring the role of NATO.