Brussels, 21/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament stated in a resolution adopted on Thursday 21 January that there is a need for the European Union to set out exactly how the mutual defence clause contained in the treaty (Article 42.7), invoked for the very first time by France in the wake of the terrorist attacks it suffered on 13 November 2015 (see EUROPE 11432), is to be implemented.
The resolution, put down jointly by the EPP, S&D and ALDE Groups, was adopted by 406 votes to 212, with 51 abstentions at the plenary session in Strasbourg. What MEPs were looking to do was to be able to give their opinion on this clause on the aid and assistance with which member states must provide another member state in the event of “armed aggression on its territory”.
The clause is intended to establish bilateral cooperation between the country invoking it and the other member states and makes no provision for any role to be played by the European institutions. At most, the institutions may “facilitate” the said cooperation, and this is what happened with France. During the debate in Parliament on the day before the vote, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini stated that the clause did not involve any specific implementation procedures, making it a flexible and, above all, political instrument.
The resolution, nevertheless, permits Parliament to make clear its concern as to the fact that arrangements for the use and implementation of the clause have not be specified. It called on Mogherini, therefore, to propose “practical arrangements and guidelines for ensuring an effective response in the event that a Member State invokes the mutual defence clause, as well as an analysis of the role of the EU institutions should that clause be invoked”.
Parliament would, at the same time, like the Council of the EU and the member states to devise and adopt a policy framework as quickly as possible. This framework should include guidelines on how the clause should work, a timescale, a review clause and oversight mechanisms. An implicit call was also made by Parliament to France to notify the Council and to make public any action resulting from the invoking of the clause. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)