Lisbon Treaty: War on Terrorism
Article 188 R [222], [new article] is presented and discussed below:
1. The Union and its Member States shall act jointly in a spirit of solidarity if a Member State is the object of a terrorist attack or the victim of a natural or man-made disaster. The Union shall mobilise all the instruments at its disposal, including the military resources made available by the Member States, to:
(a) — prevent the terrorist threat in the territory of the Member States;
— protect democratic institutions and the civilian population from any terrorist attack;
— assist a Member State in its territory, at the request of its political authorities, in the event of a terrorist attack;
(b) assist a Member State in its territory, at the request of its political authorities, in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.
2. Should a Member State be the object of a terrorist attack or the victim of a natural or man-made disaster, the other Member States shall assist it at the request of its political authorities. To that end, the Member States shall coordinate between themselves in the Council.
3. The arrangements for the implementation by the Union of the solidarity clause shall be defined by a decision adopted by the Council acting on a joint proposal by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The Council shall act in accordance with Article 15b(1) [31(1)] of the Treaty on European Union where this decision has defence implications. The European Parliament shall be informed.
For the purposes of this paragraph and without prejudice to Article 207 [240], the Council shall be assisted by the Political and Security Committee with the support of the structures developed in the context of the common security and defence policy and by the Committee referred to in Article 61 D [71]; the two committees shall, if necessary, submit joint opinions.
4. The European Council shall regularly assess the threats facing the Union in order to enable the Union and its Member States to take effective action.
YES: The Solidarity Clause requires the Union and its Member States to act jointly in a spirit of solidarity if a Member State is the object of a terrorist attack or the victim of a natural or man-made disaster. A Member State has the right to choose the most appropriate means to comply with its solidarity commitment to an affected Member State, including whether, or not to make available military forces. It would, therefore, be for Ireland to determine the nature of its response in accordance with our Constitutional and legal framework. (Fianna Fail)
NO: Outlines the detail of the solidarity clause. Solidarity clauses are one of the defining features of military alliances such as NATO. By providing such a detailed solidarity clause the Lisbon Treaty makes explicit the military and security dimension to the EU project. (Sinn Fein)
Commentary: This is disquieting. What constitutes a “terrorist attack” is not defined. The requirement on the Union to “mobilise all the instruments at its disposal, including the military resources made available by the Member States” for the purpose to “prevent” the terrorist threat in the territory of the Member States, is almost all encompassing – prevention of a terrorist threat is also all encompassing as is the section to “protect democratic institutions and the civilian population from any terrorist attack”. There is an obligation on Member States to “assist” a Member State that is the object of a terrorist attack, again without a definition of what constitutes a “terrorist attack” and without regard to the extent or seriousness of such attack
The obligation on The European Council to regularly “assess the threats facing the Union in order to enable the Union and its Member States to take effective action”, is also disquieting, at a time when paranoia about terrorist attacks is wildly disproportionate to the existence of such attacks or to the possible harm such attacks might cause.
For instance, far more people are killed on the roads of Europe each year than could possibly be even affected by a terrorist attack, let alone killed by one. This applies also to preventable disease and to deaths caused by avoidable inequalities.
The focus on terrorism is often a proxy for imperial ambition. The more people can be scared into believing they are vulnerable to terrorist attacks, the more they will tolerate and support, military adventures engaged under the guise of “anti-terrorism”.