The previous chapter argued that institutionalization promotes international cooperation and suggested several general causes of institutionalization, but did not offer precise empirical measurements of either institutionalization or cooperation. This chapter attempts to operationalize these concepts and apply them to the historical record to justify further the merits of an institutional analysis of EPC/CFSP. Although my institutional approach to cooperation is not as parsimonious as theories that focus on single causes (such as the interests of powerful EU member states) or events (such as Intergovernmental Conferences), it has the potential to capture equally important, though subtle, processes concerning the development of EU foreign policy. Institutionalization is often a contentious political process, yet with every major setback the EU has attempted to strengthen its foreign policy procedures to improve the chances of future cooperation. In general, the relationship between institutions and individual foreign policy outcomes will vary over time and across specific foreign policy actions, depending on the costs, states, and EU organizations and policies involved. However, if institutions “matter” we still should at least be able to observe a general intensification and expansion of EU foreign policy cooperation as its institutional mechanisms expand and stabilize.

EPC provides us with an interesting and theoretically useful example of such institutional development, as it began as an informal, extra-legal agreement among EU member states in an ill-defined issue-area.