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Denmark set to be sidelined due to EU opt-outs
Since the Treaty of Maastricht entered into force
in 1993, the EU can establish a Common Security and
Defence Policy (CSDP) as part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy
(CFSP). It was finally decided to establish a CSDP at the
Cologne Summit in 1999. Decisions in the area of the CSDP
require unanimity among the Member States.
The so-called Petersberg-Tasks, a list of security,
defence and peacemaking tasks, were taken over from the Western European Union (WEU) and
inserted into the TEU under the Treaty of Amsterdam. The
WEU has thus lost its importance.
.(IN REF.TO THIS ARTICLE PLEASE
ALSO READ "IRAQI CITIES HOT WITH DEPLETED
URANIUM" IN THIS EDITION)
The first mission under the EU common foreign and
security policy was a police mission in Bosnia, which
started January 2003.
· The EU Defence is governed by an EU Military
Committee, the EU Military Staff, and the Political and
Security Committee.
The future : The EU's Draft Constitution has a special chapter
on defence, Art I-40.
It proposes to establish a common defence in the EU and
allows the use of enhanced co-operation, structured
co-operation for more demanding missions and closer
co-operation for mutual defence obligations. Only
in cases of enhanced co-operation the European Parliament
has to be informed. - Especially Finland argued for
the use of the normal enhanced cooperation
rules and for constructive abstention for those not
willing to take part in common military activities, but
willing to permit the rest to do so. The
Irish Govt. should look into this last and consolidate
the public's request for us to maintain our Neutrality.
The draft Constitution also provides for a clause, which
commits those states that agree to be bound by a mutual
defence obligation comparable to Article 5 of the NATO
Treaty and the automatic mutual defence
obligation in the similar Article 5 in the WEU-Treaty.
This obligation, which is sometimes referred to as an
"assistance clause", raises
problems for neutral countries, as well as Denmark with
its special defence opt-out.
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The Danish EU opt-outs in common
defence and justice
and home affairs are set to have dramatic
consequences in relation to the new
European Union treaty.
Denmark will not be able to actively take part in the
Union’s fight against terrorism, but rather take up
the role of observing from the sideline, according to a
40-page memo from the Danish Foreign Ministry published
on Thursday, (14 August).
The fight against terror has topped the EU’s
political agenda since the September 11 terrorist
attacks.
Since 1992, Denmark has had opted out of justice and home
affairs, common defence, economic
and monetary union, and European
citizenship.
The government would like to skip these opt outs and
align the country with the rest of the EU, but approval
by referendum is needed first.
The memo is written by a number of centrally placed
officials in different ministries. It does not present
conclusions or propose concrete political action but will
strengthen the pressure to lift the opt-outs.
It is believed within the ministry that the consequences
of the opt-outs will multiply after the EU adopts the new
constitutional treaty next year.
Per Stig Møller, the Danish foreign minister, confirms
that Denmark risks being left out of Europol
– the European common police force – and large
parts of the common defence and security policy, which is
set to have significant effects on Denmark’s role in
the European Union’s war on terror.
"It is not safe for Denmark that we are weakened
within this. If we are left on the outside we are not
able to get the information that might prevent a
terrorist attack. This could become serious", says
Mr Stig Møller, according to Politken.
Criticising the ministry officials for composing a
"catalogue of arguments" for taking away the
opt-outs, Hanne Dahl, spokesman for the EU critical
JuneMovement, said:
"The memo reveals … how far reaching an EU
state we will have, if we accept the draft constitutional
treaty".
The internal documet also notes that Denmark is likely to
be left on the sidelines within other areas, such as the
environment and consumer protection, as a result of its
insistence on the opt-outs in relation to the new
constitutional treaty.
Press Articles Berlingske Tidende Politiken Jyllands-Posten
Official Documents Danish Foreign Ministry
.FOOD OR FOOLS FOR
THOUGHT?
London reveals new alternative to EU army plans
The UK has attacked what it sees as French attempts to
create an EU defence force outside Nato by proposing an
alternative plan according to The Times.
According to the daily, the UK wants to create an EU
military "planning cell" to strengthen Europe's
defence capability, but one based in Nato's military
headquarters.
They hope the unit’s placement would help to avoid
undermining Nato.
In April France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg proposed
the creation of an independent European headquarters to
command military operations. London strongly opposed the
idea.
According to The Times, Britain has already circulated
its new rival plan to all EU member states including the
10 enlargement countries. The plan is called "Food
For Thought".
..Italy, Spain and Ireland
are likely to support British plan?
Written by Marit Ruuda
GERMAN opinion :
Top German judge fears too
hasty EU constitution - 21.08.2003 - 17:25EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS
- A top German judge, based at the Constitutional Court
in Karlsruhe, has said that he fears that Europe is
pushing ahead with its plans for an EU
Constitution too quickly.
In an interview with the EUobserver, Professor Siegfried
Bross, a constitutional judge and leading expert in
European law, said "the problem is that the process
at EU level is going too quickly and a certain slowing
down would not be amiss".
He adds that the new Constitution is such an
"extraordinary treaty and the EU is such a complex
organism itself that I cannot, as a lawyer and judge,
understand why there is so much time pressure and why
more time is not taken to think over certain
issues".
One of the biggest problems with the draft Constitution,
in Prof. Bross' opinion, is that it does not account for
a dispute over competences
between the EU and its member states.
"This is a big gap that should not be
underestimated", said the judge.
Big gap in the Constitution
He calls for a separate court to judge on disputes over
competences. The European
Court of Justice cannot do this as it may not rule on
national constitutional law and the equivalent national
courts may not do it as they cannot rule on
interpretation of European law.
Such a new court should be at European level and should
have a representative from each member state - but it
should not be a European institution.
He uses the current dispute between the EU and Germany
over EU legislation to ban tobacco advertising as an
example of where such a court would be useful.
"In the tobacco case the problem was whether it was
about economics law, competition law or health law. Such
a case would be for the competence court as Germany
disputed the EU's competence in this matter".
Disputes over competences to increase
Professor Siegfried Bross feels such cases will be become
more common in the future when the EU claims more and
more competences for itself.
The subsidiarity
principle - which says that the EU should only act if the
goal cannot be better achieved by the member states -
offers no relief to the competence confusion, according
to Prof. Bross.
This is because once the member states transfer powers to
the Commission, they implicitly acknowledge that it is
better done at the EU level and so they cannot invoke the
subsidiarity principle at a later stage.
Referendum
Prof. Bross believes that he is not alone in feeling this
way, although it is unusual for a constitutional judge to
enter the political arena on such topical issues.
"My opinion is, and I have to speak here from a
neutral point of view and not in connection with the
house [German Constitutional Court], that I am not alone
in these thoughts".
The question is whether someone chooses to say it in
public, he adds.
Prof. Bross is also in favour of a referendum on the
Constitution - referenda are currently are not allowed at
the federal level in Germany.
This issue, he says, should have been sorted out at
national level before the Convention [which drew up the
draft EU Constitution] was given its mandate.
Website German Constitutional Court Written
by Honor Mahony
-
AND IN
AFGHANISTAN........
KABUL, Aug 28 (AFP) - A German plan to send troops to
Afghanistan looks set to answer the war-weary country's
urgent plea to expand peacekeeping into troubled
provinces, even though Berlin's chosen venue is a haven
of peace compared to other Afghan regions still in the
throes of conflict.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Wednesday with his
government hoped to send about 250 troops to the northern
Afghan town of Kunduz, where they would help with
construction in their first deployment outside Kabul.
While much of Afghanistan's southeast and central regions
-- where daily attacks by Islamic fundamentalists
continue to claim lives -- are crying out for more
troops, officials say Kunduz is generally free of
security hazards.
HOWEVER GERMAN
POLITICIANS ARE NOT LISTENING :
-
-The Italian and German
governments have agreed to seek a quick adoption ofthe
European Constitution, with as few changes as possible.
25.08.2003 - 09:44
The Italian and German governments have agreed to seek
a quick adoption of the European Constitution, with as
few changes as possible.
The agreement to limit the number of amendments made by
governments when they pour over the document later this
year is being seen as an attempt by Rome to place
relations between the two countries on a better footing.
Meeting with his Italian counterpart on Saturday in
Verona the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder spoke in
favour of having the draft Constitution adopted without
changes.
Pleased with the draft presented by the Convention on the
Future of Europe Berlin is keen to see that the agreement
is not watered down.
Whoever opens the packet, will not manage to seal it
again, the German Chancellor warned.
It looks like he has now secured Italian support, which
will be essential.
Under the leadership of the Italian EU presidency an
Intergovernmental Conference, (IGC) will begin in Rome on
4 October to fine tune the draft EU constitution
The Chair of the IGC, Mr Berlusconi on Saturday spoke of
one, two or maximum three changes to the draft text.
Mr Schröder’s visit is his first to Italy since a
war of words was begun by Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi when he insulted a German MEP in the European
Parliament in July.
On Friday evening a reconciliation was prepared, as Mr
Schröder, Mr Berlusconi and the European Commission
president Romano Prodi were to enjoy Carmen in the Verona
opera.
However Mr Berlusconi at the last minute said he would
not attend fearing his presence would give rise to noisy
demonstrations which had been planned by his opponents.
However, on Saturday the two political leaders did meet.
"There was never a worsening of German-Italian
relations, this is why you can not speak about
improvements", Mr Berlusconi said according to
Handelsblatt.
The European Parliament Committee on Constitutional
Affairs and the Committee on Industry, External Trade,
Research and Energy will both meet on Monday (25 August)
and discuss the Draft Treaty on the European
Constitution.
Press Articles Handelsblatt Sueddeutsche Zeitung Le Soir
Der Standard NZZ PAP Le Monde Written
by Lisbeth Kirk
.Swedish foreign minister
distrusts Berlusconi - 22.08.2003 -
07:52
The current Italian EU presidency lacks the qualification
to conclude an
Intergovernmental Conference on the future of Europe,
according to Swedish
Foreign Minister Anna Lindh.
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