Neutrality

: Trinity College in Dublin (Photo: EU Commission)

Among the 15 EU Member States, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Austria are neutral. They are not members of any military alliance and are not bound by a mutual defence commitment.

Among the 10 new EU Member States, Malta and Cyprus have declared they will remain neutral and non-aligned. At the December 2002 EU Summit in Copenhagen, they retained their special status in this regard.

The Treaty of Maastricht poses a problem for the neutral states as it lays the foundations for collective EU action in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Under the treaties, the neutrals will be allowed to take part in military EU operations if they wish, but they are not legally obliged to. They will not receive or share NATO secrets, as the EU members that take part do.

The future

The EU Constitution obliges all Member States to support the CFSP - see Art. I-15,2.

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