Strategic Panorama 2009 - 2010 - IEEE

Aníbal Villalba Fernández
Enhanced Cooperation
Article 20 of the TEU – Lisbon states that Member States wishing
to establish Enhanced Cooperation between themselves within the framework
of the Union’s non-exclusive competences may make use of
its institutions and exercise those competences by applying the relevant
provisions of the Treaties.
Enhanced Cooperation shall be permitted in any of the areas covered
by the Treaty, among them the Common Security and Defence Policy.
The decision authorising enhanced cooperation shall be adopted by the
Council as a last resort, when it has established that the objectives of such
cooperation cannot be attained within a reasonable period by the Union as
a whole, and provided that at least nine Member States participate in it.
Furthermore, the Council and the Commission shall ensure the consistency
of activities undertaken in the context of enhanced cooperation
and the consistency of such activities with the policies of the Union, and
shall cooperate to that end, as laid down in article 334 of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the EU.
These safeguards are consonant with the concern shown during the
political process which has led to the Treaty of Lisbon. In this connection,
initiatives such as Pierre Lellouche’s proposal that progress in common
defence should be driven by an «enhanced cooperation» core group of six
nations—France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland—
sparked concern in various milieus owing to the risk of ignoring the potential
of other Member States, although Lellouche himself pointed out that the
other countries could join the «pioneer» group at any time (14).
An interesting aspect of the development of Enhanced Cooperation
in the areas of security and defence is its relationship with Permanent
Structured Cooperation, as this is the first time the latter mechanism is
included in a Union text. Although concerns over its implementation, such
as the worry that the Member States participating in Permanent Structured
Cooperation might decide to establish a mission of their own mutual
accord on behalf of the EU, have been incorporated into the EU decisionmaking
process, there is nothing to prevent this group of countries from
(14) LELLOUCHE, PIERRE. «8 propositions pour donner à l’Union une défense commune».
Le Figaro. 31 January 2008. http://www.lefigaro.fr/debats/2008/01/31/01005-
20080131ARTFIG00515--propositions-pour-donner-a-l-union-une-defense-commune.
php
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