Paris, 2 December 2009 – Assembly President Robert Walter MP (United Kingdom, Federated Group) who was re-elected today, Wednesday, for a second-year term, said that his main objective was to make the case for the ESDA as the body “that can provide parliamentary oversight and scrutiny” of European security and defence.

Urging all Assembly Members to lobby their parliaments and governments in the cause, he warned that if the arguments fall on deaf ears “the democratic deficit is bound to increase”. “That is the responsibility of all of us”, he added. The decisions of the European Council, its committees and agencies must “be accountable to us as an Assembly of national parliaments”. The ESDA “must go forward as an essential part of the democratic architecture of Europe. We represent national parliaments. We must work in partnership with the European Parliament and any other body with a democratic mandate, to hold our governments accountable and encourage them over Common Security and Defence policy (CSDP)”.

“In 2010, we have a very important agenda, after the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. The entry into force of the treaty marks a decisive step in the ongoing institutional overhaul of the European Union. Our nations are determined to maintain the intergovernmental nature of their cooperation on security and defence issues. Intergovernmental cooperation should be matched by efficient interparliamentary cooperation. No armed forces can be deployed on a military mission, whether it is an EU, NATO or UN military mission, or any other form of collective military mission, without the specific approval of our national governments and national parliaments.”

Under the Lisbon Treaty, “there are moves to enhance the involvement of national parliaments in this area and to strengthen the prerogatives of the European Parliament”, he said. This is a good move. EU actions, whether for peacekeeping or within the European Defence Agency, are “increasingly collective and cooperative – more than ever before we need the collective support of our parliaments as the essential link with public opinion”.