Neutralitet och europeisk integration

Abstract

This thesis deals with the relationship between the status of permanent neutrality or a state's expressed political aim to abide by the law of neutrality vis-a-vis belligerents, and participation in the regional West European process of integration. The purpose of the thesis is to fulfil two mutually complementing goals. The first of these is to define and analyse the potential situations of conflict which may occur when the legal regime of neutrality, which is based on far reaching state sovereignty, meets with the regime for regional West European integration which has been developed within the framework of the European Union. Such a meeting takes place when a state which is obliged to, or which conducts a autonomous policy with the aim to, abide by the law of neutrality becomes a member of the European Union. Inversely, this analysis may be described as an attempt to define to what extent membership in the EU places legal limitations on the capacity of a Member State to be neutral. The analysis also take into account the structures for regional co-operation which have been established by the OSCE, NATO/PFP and WEU. The second, and most important, goal of the thesis is to contribute to a deeper understanding of how the legal concept of neutrality and regimes for regional European cooperation and integration has influenced, and influence, the formulation of principles of foreign and security policy in Sweden, Switzerland and Austria with primary focus on the Swedish position. In order to fulfil this goal I have related the relevant legal regimes, as well as the relationship between these regimes and the political stances of the three examined states, to the relevant historical and political context. The analysis of past experiences are used as an instrument to gain a better understanding of the present.