European Defense at the Crossroads ? Despite European tensions and the crisis in transatlantic relations over the war in Iraq, the year 2004 saw significant progress in the area of European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), to the extent that European Defense today appears as the main source of satisfaction in an otherwise cheerless European landscape. The future of ESDP nevertheless remains full of grave uncertainties. A critical analysis of each of the major undertakings in European Defense will provide an indication of the direction in which the ESDP is heading.