Common Foreign and Security Policy; European Community, European Union; Treaty establishing the European Community; TEU: Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty, 1992).
Treaties: the Amsterdam Treaty will amend the Treaty on European Union (TEU, or Maastricht Treaty). The TEU itself includes the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC, or Treaty of Rome), so some Amsterdam amendments affect the TEU and some affect the TEC. The Community Method: treating an issue by the rules of the European Community - proposal from the Commission, involvement of and decision by the European Parliament and Council - it differs from the Intergovernmental Method, where the Member States must reach unanimous agreement in the Council, with only a marginal input from the other institutions.
Petersberg tasks: in 1992, a declaration made at the town of Petersberg (near Bonn) identified five areas where WEU might assist in conflict prevention. The five "tasks" are "humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking."
Schengen Agreement: agreement between the EU's continental Member States to permit free movement between their countries without passport checks at borders - named after the town of Schengen in Luxembourg.