Background report: Constitution for a military ,,European core"
BERLIN (Own report) In the constitution of the European Union, which Berlin attempts to push through against any opposition - under threats of splitting the EU as a consequence - , a far reaching deprivation of power of the majority of member states is to be established. In the event that Berlin and Paris prevail with their intentions, the responsibilities of the individual states in military political affairs would be actually repealed. The national defense arsenals would become the responsibility of the German-French power cartel which, as the center of an exclusive military ,,European core"would make decisions about warfare for the EU.
In the draft of the constitution, the central responsibility for ,,all areas of foreign policy", including the development of a common security policy, will be ascribed to Brussels (Article I-15). The executive power will be transferred to a ,,Union Minister for Foreign Affairs"who has his own ,,European Foreign Service"at his disposal and who can depend on the diplomatic services of the member states (Article I-27 and III-196). The member states are committed to support the policies of the Union; those which also are members of the Security Council of the United Nations, must keep the Foreign Minister of the EU ,,fully informed"about its actions and, if necessary, to cede representation in the Security Council to him. (Article III-206)
Interests, ...
The strategic interests of the EU, as well as the goals of its foreign and security policies, are determined in Brussels (Article 1 I-39). 1)The member states shall support these central guidelines ,,actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty"and shall refrain from any action which is ,,contrary to the Union's interests or likely to impair its effectiveness as a coherent power in international relations"(Article 1 I-15 and III-195). This applies specifically to future international military deployments under the banner of the EU. The military policy which is to provide the ,,operational capacity drawing on civilian and military assets"is an ,,integral part"of the joint foreign and security policies (Article I-40). The Council of Ministers decides its ,,goals, perimeter, assets which are to be provided to the Union, as well as the conditions and necessary time period for the implementation of the action."Once the individual states have agreed to the introduction of the ,,common defense policy", the decisions based thereon will be ,,binding in statements and actions"for the member states (Article III-198).
... ,,Operations", ...
The draft of the constitution contains, in addition, an extremely broad mandate for possible military EU deployments. The envisioned ,,operations"range from military aid ( ,,military advisory tasks and support") through intervention in civil wars and post-conflict stabilization ( ,,support for third countries in combating terrorism in their territories") to open ended military engagements ( ,,combat missions in the framework of crisis management") (Article III-210). For this the member states provide ,,civilian and military capabilities"and will be subject to an explicit armament commitment which stipulates that they ,,will have to improve their military capabilities step by step". The armament is to be centralized through a ,,European Authority for Armaments Research and Military Capabilities"(Article I-40).
... and democracy
In addition to the member states and, thus, the individual state parliaments, the European Parliament shall be deprived of any participation in the future military engagements of the EU. It will merely be ,,heard on a regular basis"and ,,informed"about developments and is, otherwise, dependent on the good will of the EU Foreign Minister, because he ,,will be vigilant to ensure that the concepts of the European Parliament will be taken into account sufficiently"(Article I-39 and III-205). Thus, even the appearance of democratic control over future military policy is abolished.
The military core of Europe
The German-French vanguard of an independent EU military power did not succeed in overcoming the principle of unanimity in the military policy question. Since it can't be relied on that all member states will agree to those provisions, which would cement their far reaching deprivation of power, the creation of a military ,,European core", to be framed by the German-French power cartel, is specifically provided in the draft of the constitution. According to Article 40, ,,those Member States whose military capabilities fulfil higher criteria and which have made more binding commitments to one another in this area with a view to the most demanding missions, shall establish structured cooperation within the Union framework."
Once this military center of power has been established, the non-participating member states as well as the parliament are excluded from decisions about further development. Although ,,informed"and permitted to participate in the deliberations, they have no right to vote (Article I-43). The core dictates the conditions under which the rest of the states are to participate in the further development of EU military power, if they do not want to be excluded from this decisive center of power. The member state, interested in participation, must notify the Council of Ministers, where the members of the exclusive military ,,European core"decide whether ,,any conditions for participation have been satisfied"or ,,which steps are necessary for compliance with these conditions"(Article III-326). Thus, the national arsenals for defense of the smaller EU members would be de facto subordinated to the disposal of the German-French power cartel. 2)
1) See also earlier article EU Strategy: ,,Preemptive Wars", worldwide
2) See also earlier articles Fit for Warand ,,Downfall or ascent to world power
See also Military constitution
Sources:
Draft Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, 18/07/2003, CONV 850/03; european-convention.eu.int
Eine Militaerverfassung fuer die Europaeische Union;. IMI-Analyse 2003/036; www.imi-online.de