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Liam Fox: We didn't join the EU for defence reasons

Dr Liam Fox MP, Thursday, January 1 2009

Gordon Brown was wrong when he told the House of Commons

recently that the Lisbon Treaty "in no way affects our defence policy".

At the start of what may be a dangerous year for global security,

perhaps he should read it more closely.

On defence, the treaty gives the EU Commission more influence than

ever. The debate is not about whether the treaty affects our defence
policy but how far it pushes us from an intergovernmental policy to a
supranational one.

The newly created High Representative of the Union for Foreign

Affairs and Security Policy (the EU's foreign minister) will also serve as a vice-president in the EU
Commission. This in itself is bad enough, potentially blurring executive and civil service roles. Worse still,
he will also head the European Defence Agency (EDA) and have a right of initiative for proposing EU-led
military operations. The bottom line is that the EU will get a foothold in our defence policy for the first time.

Since, by definition, the Commission doesn't answer to any single member state, allowing the High
Representative to simultaneously serve as a vice-president brings the realisation of "ever closer Union" in
the area of defence one step closer.

The treaty requires member states "to progressively improve their military capabilities" - commendable, if
some of our European allies would actually do it to fulfil their Nato obligations. At present, too many seem
to want the insurance that Nato provides without having to pay the premiums.

As the treaty allows qualified majority voting in the EDA, Britain will now lose its national veto. The treaty
also contains a mutual defence clause. At what point did an economic community mutate into a proto-
defence union? And what does a mutual defence clause mean when neutral states such as Ireland are
included?

We did not join the EU for defence purposes - we have Nato as the cornerstone of our defence.For the EU
to have a constructive role, it needs to do something Nato does not do. The EU acting as a delivery
mechanism for Nato where the US will not or cannot be involved is a sound idea. But duplicating Nato
structures will potentially create competition for the same scarce resources.

The treaty threatens to undermine the defence assumptions that our nation have held for 60 years, and to
drive a wedge between us and our transatlantic allies. Over time, the integrationists want an ever greater
role in defence for the EU. This would ultimately challenge Nato and the role America has in our defence.
This year the US will spend about $700 billion on defence. The UK, the EU's biggest spender, will spend
about $60 billion. The idea that we would risk losing the defensive umbrella of America and swap it for an
alliance of low-spending, non-deploying and, in some cases, neutral countries would be crazy. If we
maintain our current direction in the EU, that is where we may end up.

Conservatives want the EU to work in partnership with Nato. The provisions of the treaty move us in the
wrong direction. When Gordon Brown tells us that the Government supports the Irish having another
referendum, but that the British are to be denied one, his cynicism shows through. When he tells the Irish
there are no defence implications it is simply untrue. When he tells the British people that we do not
understand the treaty, and that he is in complete control, we need to press the stop button. Quickly.

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The Conservative Party | News | Articles | Liam Fox: We didn't join the... http://www.conservatives.com/News/Articles/2009/01/Liam_Fox_We...
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Promoted by Alan Mabbutt on behalf of the Conservative Party, both at 30 Millbank, London, SW1P 4DP

2z2 2009-07-20 23:09