UEF IN THE MEDIA | What is the European Defence and how to create it?

PC 1 Chair Luca Lionello, professor of European Law at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, participated in an interview togheter Maria Tadeo, The Grand Continent, regarding the European Defence future on SKY ITALY TG24.

The interview focused on the topic of European rearmament of individual countries and how a ‘European defence’ in the sense of greater integration of individual countries' defences within a Structured and Permanent Cooperation can be developed with non-EU countries.

Lionello's answer was: ‘PESCO allows us to do many things but the problem is the decision-making system, which unfortunately is still unanimous in foreign and defence policy. So you can do something now but in perspective you have to reform the Treaties.’

‘But what is the difference with the cooperation achieved to make the Euro?’ the journalist continued. Luca replied, ‘The Euro was made a unanimous treaty with exceptions made to some countries. By contrast, foreign policy and defence can be done but it will only be done between willing countries in contrast to countries that are against it. We have to wait for the new German chancellor to see what proposals he will make together with Macron.'

‘But wouldn't it be possible to reuse the old CED Treaty that was not approved in the 1950s to speed up the construction of a European defence?’ ‘It is a fascinating hypothesis but difficult to resurrect because it was written in another historical context and only between 6 countries but it can serve as a model. However, making European defence does not mean having an army of men in European uniforms and with a European flag. It is much more complex than that: It is much more complex than that: what is a priority is a common foreign policy because having a collective but unanimously decided instrument of 27 would not be possible. Defence policy needs strategy, vision, industrial structure. As long as a country like Hungary stops everything doesn't work. The question in the coming months is how to overcome the intergovernmental dimension and give a voice to the European Parliament, which has no voice.’’

It is much more complex than that: what is a priority is a common foreign policy because having a collective but unanimously decided instrument of 27 would not be possible. Defence policy needs strategy, vision, industrial structure. As long as a country like Hungary stops everything doesn't work. The question in the coming months is how to overcome the intergovernmental dimension and give a voice to the European Parliament, which has no voice.’

Towards the end of the conversation, the question was asked: ‘Is there a way to kick someone out of the European Union?’ No because the EU is a unique international organisation, an association of states but also of citizens, so you cannot kick out one of its members as you would in any other international organisation. The solution is not to kick someone out but to advance the integration project in order to confront Orban and his loyalists with the contradiction of staying out of a stronger and more cohesive Europe.’

To watch the video in Italian: LINK.