The European Union is based on the rule of law. Every action taken by the EU is founded on treaties that have been approved voluntarily and democratically by all EU member countries. The last major EU treaty reform occurred in 2007, resulting in the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, which changed many aspects of the Union’ s technical functioning. Nearly twenty years later, a new comprehensive reform is under discussion, following a proposal approved by the European Parliament in November 2023.
An ambitious chapter of this reform proposal touches the field of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), aiming to incorporate it into the area of shared competences and calling for the establishment of a European Defence Union. Among the many changes this would entail, two key measures would be: first, the placement of EU-led military units under a common operational command; and second, the financing of joint armaments through an EU budget subject to parliamentary control. The overall goal would consist in enabling the Union to defend Member States (MSs) against threats. This paper aims to analyse in detail the 2023 Treaty Reform Proposal’ s vision for a European Defence Union, assessing its institutional innovations, notably the shift to Qualified Majority Voting, the expansion of European Parliament powers, and the establishment of a permanent EU rapid deployment force. It also evaluates the legal, political, and constitutional obstacles that hinder its realisation. Ultimately, the paper asks whether such a profound transformation could materialise under the pressure of current geopolitical developments, including Russia ’ s war of aggression against Ukraine and the growing exposure of the Union to hybrid threats, or whether it remains too early for such an epochal change.
About the Author:
Federico Renda is a Legal Researcher at Finabel.