Treaty of Lisbon foreign policy issues

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Foreign Policy Issues

The Treaty of Lisbon develops the process of passing power to the EU in matters of defence, military action and our relationships with foreign countries. (The UK government claims that this is not the case. Details are given below. Initially the amount of power and influence which the treaty would pass to the EU is significant but not great. What has to be understood is that the institutions and processes the treaty would set up prepare the way for a dramatic transfer of power in the future. Some of this power will pass gradually and imperceptibly to the new institutions (like the EU's own foreign office) but the procedure is there for governments, possibly under the irresistable pressure of whipped voting, to make huge transfers of power at a later date.

The Treaty of Lisbon (if ratified) would ensure that EU power in foreign policy will be developed (and member state power will be weakened) in 4 main ways, building on the transfers that have already taken place:

EU will establish an EU foreign office It will set up the EU's own foreign service of experts to study and talk to foreign governments and businesses. Some of our own Foreign Office civil servants will take part in this. Over a period of years more and more responsibility will pass to this new EU body.
In fact the EU is not waiting for the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon before setting up the Foreign Office of the European Union. It is being set up now.
The EU will develop the European arms industry The Treaty of Lisbon will set up a body of experts to tell member states what they should do to improve their military capability and will commit member states to year on year increases in military spending. The new body is called The Defence Agency.
The EU is not waiting for the Treaty of Lisbon to be ratified before setting up the Defence Agency. It has already been set up. Denmark has said that it will not be part of or bound by the Defence Agency.
EU will have its own Foreign Minister The Treaty of Lisbon establishes the role of supremo for EU relationships with other countries. The Constitution would have called this role "Minister for Foreign Affairs". This would have been an accurate and simple job title. In a move towards making the title too long to be usable, and to take away a title which might suggest that the holder of the title is a minister of a state, the Treaty of Lisbon will rename the Minister for Foreign Affairs "The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy" - perhaps HRUFASP for short.
The HRUFASP will speak for the European Member States on policies agreed by EU leaders. This role can be predicted to increase in importance and the role of Foreign Minister of member states can be expected to diminish in time.
Member states will have limited independence in foreign policy. This is a complex topic. The first difficulty is that the Treaty of Lisbon makes contradictory arrangements. We will set these out. Having done this we will see that, in practice, member states have severe limitations and whole no-go areas in foreign policy.

The contradictory positions. The Treaty of Lisbon (Declaration 14) states, "The conference underlines that the provisions covering the Common Foreign and Security Policy will not affect the existing legal basis, responsibilities and powers of each member state in relation to the formulation and conduct of its foreign policy." UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, told parliament on 17 December 2007, "Nothing in the new treaty affects the existing powers of member states to formulate and conduct their foreign policy."

But there are restrictions. The EU claims a right to control all foreign policy and security throughout the EU. In contrast with the above assurances the Treaty of Lisbon states, (point 27), “The Union's competence in matters of common foreign and security policy shall cover all areas of foreign policy and all questions relating to the Union's security, including the progressive framing of a common defence policy that might lead to a common defence.” [Emphasis added.]

Member states are committed to solidarity. Article 11, paragraph 2 of the Treaty on European Union (not changed by point 27 of the Treaty of Lisbon) states: "The Member States shall support the Union's external and security policy actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity. The Member States shall work together to enhance and develop their mutual political solidarity. They shall refrain from any action which is contrary to the interests of the Union or likely to impair its effectiveness as a cohesive force in international relations. The Council shall ensure that these principles are complied with."

Clearly, the Treaty of Lisbon needs re-writing at this point. It needs to acknowledge the following limitations on the ability of members states to act independently in matters of foreign policy.

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Limitation 1. Inflexibility and solidarity. One area of policy in which member states cannot act is the obvious one of “agreed areas of common policy”. Once these are established they cannot be undermined by independent decisions of member states. How might this tie the hands of the UK government?

Example one: The EU has a policy of support for Israel and against the Hamas - led Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip. There is a humanitarian crisis there as a result. What can the UK government do? There is no opportunity here for independent action.
Example two. Consider this scenario. The EU, with the agreement of the UK, adopts a policy of free trade with a repressive regime as a means of opening dialogue and influence. After a general election, with a new party in power, the UK decides that there should be sanctions against the repressive regime. At this point the EU insists that the UK must abide by the decision of the former UK government. The EU cannot accommodate unilateral changes of mind. Where is the independence in this?

There are already many agreed areas of policy and agreed guidelines with which member states must comply.

Limitation 2. The EU homeland. Before the UK joined the EU the 26 other current member states of the EU were "foreign states". The UK was able to decide how to conduct its relationships with these countries. For example, the UK could decide what immigration policies it might adopt with each. Now, these countries are not foreign, They are members of the Union, the state that we are part of. There can be no restrictions on, for example, trade or migration as far as these countries are concerned. We have been unified and we cannot make independent foreign policy decisions with regard to these countries.

Limitation 3. Member states must ask for permission before acting. Point 35 of the Treaty of Lisbon states, "Before undertaking any action on the international scene or entering into any commitment which could affect the Union's interests, each Member State shall consult the others within the European Council or the Council. Member States shall ensure, through the convergence of their actions, that the Union is able to assert its interests and values on the international scene. Member States shall show mutual solidarity."

"When the European Council or the Council has defined a common approach of the Union within the meaning of the first paragraph, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Member States shall coordinate their activities within the Council.

The diplomatic missions of the Member States and the Union delegations in third countries and at international organisations shall cooperate and shall contribute to formulating and implementing the common approach."

Limitation 4. States are committed to converge their foreign policies. The Treaty of Lisbon (part of point 27) states "The Union shall conduct, define and implement a common foreign and security policy, based on the development of mutual political solidarity among member states, the identification of questions of general interest and the achievement of an ever-increasing degree of convergence of member states actions."
"The Council and the High Representative shall ensure that these principles are complied with."

Limitation 5. The EU decides trade policy. Trade with other countries is a major concern of any government's foreign policy. In the EU all trade negotiations with other countries are conducted by the Commission and the agreements the Commission makes are binding on all member states. It is true that during negotiations the Commission is in frequent contact with senior civil servants and ministers from member states, but any member state may be overruled by a qualified majority decision. This may generally produce satisfactory results, but it is not the same as having independent powers of action in this area of foreign policy.

Limitation 6. The unanimity rule is not the same as independence. Point 24 of the Treaty of Lisbon states, “The European Council shall act unanimously on a recommendation from the Council, adopted by the latter under the arrangements laid down for each area. Decisions of the European Council shall be implemented in accordance with the procedures provided for in the Treaties.

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, for the area of common foreign and security policy, and the Commission, for other areas of external action, may submit joint proposals to the Council."

This means three things. a. Every member state will be involved in foreign policy decision-making. b. Any member state may veto a foreign policy proposal (so a cherished idea of any member state may be thwarted by just one unconvinced country). c. Once the EU has decided to act in a given area or set out guidelines there can be no independent action by member states.

Limitation 7. The EU would take charge in the event of an EU war. In the event of an EU-led war the Political and Security Committee would take charge. This committee is mentioned in point 44 of the Treaty of Lisbon, but the significance of the Treaty of Lisbon at this point is that it leaves intact paragraph 3 of article 25 of the Treaty on European Union (also Constitution article 307). That committee may, “take the relevant measures concerning the political control and strategic direction of the operation”.

The Treaty of Lisbon spends 8 pages explaining just how EU foreign policy will operate. This is not a sign of complete independence of member states in this policy area. See Treaty of Lisbon on Foreign Policy for the actual text.

There is further exploration of this topic in The European Union and You.

UK Military Commitment
Details of the UK's commitment to supply soldiers and military equipment to EU military operations are outlined in The European Union and You. Troops, planes and battleships committed to the EU are no longer completely free to be used by the UK.

This website is edited by David Roberts.

David Roberts is the author of The European Union and You. See Home page for details and a link. HOME PAGE

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