On 3rd November 2009 Professor Martin Trybus, Director of the Institute of European Law, delivered his Inaugural Lecture as Professor of European Law and Policy entitled:
A European Army featured at the very beginning of the European integration process. In the early 1950s the ‘Pleven Plan’ proposed to establish a European Defence Community comprising inter alia of an integrated European Defence Force. However, the plan failed and the notion of a European Army disappeared from the European agenda for a long time. While the creation of a European Army is controversial and not very likely in the short term, the European Security and Defence Policy developed since the late 1990s might well lead to a permanent European military force in the medium or long term.
The lecture examined the legal and policy arguments for a European Army (based on subsidiarity: financial, military, and political) and the extent to which the existing legal framework would need to be reformed to permit the establishment of such an entity. It was argued that the new flexibility instrument of 'permanent structured cooperation' under the Treaty of Lisbon could be used to progress towards common military structures.
Coincidentally, the President of the Czech Republic had signed the Treaty of Lisbon on the same day, thereby removing the last obstacle to its ratification.
The introduction was delivered by Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Adrian Randall and the thanks by Professor Robert Cryer, Head of Birmingham Law School. Over 100 colleagues, students, and outside visitors attended.
Listen Now: audio recording of Professor Trybus' lecture. Just press the "Play" button above.
MP3 version (right click, save as) for Ipod and other devices.
