While the primary responsibility for providing civil protection on their territory lies with the States themselves, the increasing number of large-scale natural, man-made and terrorist disasters with cross-border effects has gradually led to the development of inter-State assistance mechanisms. One of the most developed is the European Union's (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism, which is the only one to codify the obligation of other Member States and the EU to assist an affected Member State in a Solidarity Clause contained in Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Although, at first sight, the adoption of the Solidarity Clause may appear to have overridden the sovereignty of the Member States, this is not the case, as the Solidarity Clause is primarily intended to regulate the EU's obligations towards the affected Member State, while it does not interfere with the Member States' decision on the manner and extent of the assistance to be provided. The Solidarity Clause is an extrema ratio measure and can only be invoked at the discretion of the Member State concerned. Due to the primacy of the sovereignty principle, and despite the opportunities provided by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, it has not yet been invoked.
In order to better understand the topic, this master thesis first presents the evolution of solidarity, the principle of sovereignty and the development of the field of CP, all at international and EU level. A more detailed overview of the Solidarity Clause is then given, focusing on understanding the balance between sovereignty and solidarity, followed by an analysis.
The hypothesis of this master thesis is:
»While the Solidarity Clause in Article 222 TFEU aims to deepen solidarity between EU Member States, its regulation gives priority to the principle of national sovereignty. «
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