The Lisbon Treaty and ESDP: Prodi and Howorth Compared

Abstract

The Lisbon Treaty, as it was first negotiated, is dead and the institutional stalemate has the potential to kill the entire integration process. European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) needs effective institutions, shared rules and clear priorities: to this end both Professor Romano Prodi and Professor Jolyon Howorth think that some reforms are necessary, among others: the introduction of an ‘exit clause’ and the rationalization of the decision making process, with the abolition of the unanimity rule. As regards ESDP and the future of Europe as a reliable and effective player in world politics, Prodi and Howorth believe that the EU is heading in the right direction: more capabilities, more resources, clearer objectives and stronger alliances; this is the recipe that they suggest to increase the quality of the action of the European Union at the international level. Notwithstanding, Prodi and Howorth are well aware that institutions matter but political will matters more. In the field of security and defence the EU lacks political consensus, and this is going to limit the ambitions and aspirations of some important European states.