The European Union: An Authoritarian Body with a Humanitarian Face
by Jiří Payne • January 1, 2019 at 4:00 am
- What the Lisbon Treaty actually created was an authoritarian political system that infringes on human and political rights.
- Article 4 states in part: "...The Member States shall facilitate the achievement of the Union's tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union's objectives." In other words, the interests of the Union are above the interests of individual states and citizens.
- In a democratic system with a healthy balance of power, a ruling coalition can be challenged or replaced by the opposition. This is precisely what is lacking in the EU, as the Treaty of Lisbon requires that European Commission members be selected on the basis of their "European commitment." This means, in effect, that anyone with a dissenting view may never become a member of the Commission. As history repeatedly demonstrates, where there is no opposition, freedom is lost.
The Treaty of Lisbon considers the interests of the European Union to be above the interests of individual states and citizens. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, complained in 2016: "Too many politicians are listening exclusively to their national opinion. And if you are listening to your national opinion you are not developing what should be a common European sense..." (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
The Treaty of Lisbon -- drafted as a replacement to the 2005 Constitutional Treaty and signed in 2007 by the leaders of the 27 European Union member states -- describes itself as an agreement to "reform the functioning of the European Union... [it] sets out humanitarian assistance as a specific Commission competence."
What the Lisbon Treaty actually created, however, was an authoritarian political system that infringes on human and political rights.
Take the mandate of the European Commission (EC), for instance. According to Article 17 of the Treaty:
"The Commission shall promote the general interest of the Union... In carrying out its responsibilities, the Commission shall be completely independent... the members of the Commission shall neither seek nor take instructions from any Government or other institution, body, office or entity."
Then there is Article 4, which states in part:
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