The Head of Research at the European Foundation, Margarida Vasconcelos, has done a very thorough job in analysing the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the UK. Margarida has looked at how one provision (take a look at Article 61 D) explains that a new committee will be set up to focus on EU internal security. According to new ARTICLE 61 D “A standing committee shall be set up within the Council in order to ensure that operational cooperation on internal security is promoted and strengthened within the Union.”
It will be a standing committee (not an ad hoc committee) with the task to “facilitate coordination of the action of Member States' competent authorities.” With the collapse of the pillar structure, the authorities concerned with "internal security" will cover not just police forces but also authorities responsible for customs and civil protection. Its composition, concrete tasks and competences are completely unclear, making it difficult to assess how far-reaching its objectives will be. It will “facilitate coordination” of the actions of national police, customs and civil protection authorities but again, it is not clear in which circumstances or in what type of crisis.
It is implied that it will have the power to coordinate the actions of national police as well as other authorities. In this way, the Union competence would be extended far beyond the area of 'police and judicial cooperation' which it claims to. Moreover, “The European Parliament and national Parliaments shall be kept informed of the proceedings” so, in any case, such committee will not be subject to proper parliamentary control from Westminster.
Recent Comments