History
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| History of the European Union |
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Timeline
Pre-1945 ideas 1945–1957 1958–1972 1973–1993 1993–2004 2004–present |
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Organisation
European Communities (1954-2010) |
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Treaties
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Rome Merger Treaty Single European Act Treaty of Maastricht Treaty of Amsterdam Treaty of Nice Treaty of Lisbon |
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Commissions
Hallstein Commission 1958 Rey Commission 1967 Malfatti Commission 1970 Mansholt Commission 1972 Ortoli Commission 1973 Jenkins Commission 1977 Thorn Commission 1981 Delors Commission 1985 Santer Commission 1994 Prodi Commission 1999 Barroso Commission 2004 |
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Topics
History of Europe History of the euro History of enlargement List of presidents |
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Located in Paris, the Assembly was founded in 1954 when the 1948 Brussels Treaty on European security and defence cooperation was modified to establish the Western European Union. It contains an unconditional mutual defence commitment on the part of member states (Article V). The article stipulates that - “If any of the High Contracting Parties should be the object of an armed attack in Europe, the other High Contracting Parties will, in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, afford the Party so attacked all the military and other aid and assistance in their power”.
The Assembly, whose first session was held on 5 July 1955, scrutinizes the full implementation of the collective defence obligation laid down in Article V of the treaty. Article IX of the modified Brussels Treaty obliges WEU member governments represented in the Council to provide national parliamentarians, who sit in the Assembly, with a written annual report on their security and defence activities. As yet no such obligation exists on the part of the European Council vis-à-vis the European Parliament. Hence, the Assembly is currently acting as an interparliamentary forum for the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) on the basis of parliamentary instruments for which the WEU legal framework makes provision.
Following the transfer of the WEU’s operational activities to the EU, the Assembly’s interparliamentary scrutiny continued to monitor and support intergovernmental cooperation in the field of security and defence, thereby increasing transparency and democratic accountability. The work of the Assembly and its recommendations, to which governments are bound to reply, ensured that cooperation between governments at the European level is mirrored by cooperation between national parliamentarians meeting at the same level. With the Lisbon Treaty expanding the EU's role and accountability, the European Parliament called for the abolition of the assembly. However it was agreed at the end of March 2010 to abolish the whole of the WEU. The assemblies functions were wound up in May 2011, although there is hope from members that work would continue in some form through provisions encouraging cooperation between the national parliaments of the European Union.
Read more about this topic: Assembly Of The Western European Union
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