This study traces the development of the European Union's foreign policy making from the old governmental co-operation (EPC) to the common foreign and security policy introduced by the Maastricht Treaty. It is the first time the process had been explained from a comprehensive historical and political viewpoint. The impact of the fall of communism as well as the Gulf War and the early stages of the conflict in Yugoslavia are analyzed in detail. The personal roles played by Mitterrand, Kohl, and Bush are also vividly described.