1995 REPORT RECOMMENDATION
Defence
...The general assumption of the
obligations of full membership of WEU should be the first step
towards less complex and more rational structures for the defence
of Europe. (274)
Effective co-ordination between
WEU and the European Union will be essential if the possibilities
envisaged under the Treaty on European Union are to be used...(275)
OUTCOME OF THE TREATY
Defence
The Maastricht Treaty (Article
J.4) stated that CFSP "shall include all questions related
to the security of the Union, including the eventual framing of
a common defence policy which might in time lead to a common defence."
Article J.4(2) requested "the Western European Union, which
is an integral part of the development of the Union, to elaborate
and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence
implications."
The new Treaty alters the wording
of this Article in several significant respects. The new Article
J.7 which replaces Article J.4 refers to the "progressive
framing of a common defence policy ... which might lead to a common
defence, should the European Council so decide."
The role of the WEU is clarified
in the second sub-paragraph of Article J.7(1):
"The Western European
Union (WEU) is an integral part of the development of the Union
providing the Union with access to an operational capability notably
in the context of paragraph 2. It supports the Union in framing
the defence aspects of the Common Foreign and Security Policy
as set out in this Article. The Union shall accordingly foster
closer institutional relations with the WEU with a view to the
possibility of the integration of the WEU into the Union should
the European Council so decide. It shall in that case recommend
to the Member States the adoption of such a decision in accordance
with their respective constitutional requirements."
Article J.7(2) makes it clear
that the WEU is to provide the Union with access to an operational
capability particularly in the context of humanitarian and rescue
tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis
management, including peacemaking. These are the so called "Petersberg
Tasks", named after the WEU's Petersberg Declaration of June
1992.
The new Treaty therefore makes
some aspects of the WEU/EU relationship clearer and raises the
possibility of integration of the WEU into the EU, but makes it
clear that any move towards such integration would be subject
to the unanimous agreement of the Council.
The new Article J.7 also inserts
some important words with regard to NATO. The third sub-paragraph
of Article J.7(1) states that
"The policy of the Union
in accordance with this Article shall not prejudice the specific
character of the security and defence policy of certain Member
States and shall respect the obligations of certain Member States,
which see their common defence realised in NATO, under
the North Atlantic Treaty and be compatible with the common security
and defence policy established within that framework."
