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Not to be confused with the European Union, the Western
European Union (WEU) has been said to be largely dormant European defence and security organization composed of those
states members of both NATO and the EU. However, New York
University's recent book, DEFENDING EUROPE, paints it as a "revival of WEU" rather than a shutting down of same. The WEU was
established under the Modified Brussels Treaty, in response to the failure of the European Defence Community treaty. Most of its functions are in the process of being
merged into the European Union. The Parliamentary Assembly of the WEU
is composed of the delegations of the member states to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which, fearful for its future existence with the winding up of the WEU, has been
lobbying for itself to be recognized as the "European Security and Defence Assembly".
The Secretary-General of the WEU is Javier Solana, who is also
Secretary-General of the Council of the
European Union and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union. His being head of both
organizations permits him to oversee the ongoing transfer of functions from the WEU to the EU.
Supposedly this was to occur in the year 2000; however, as of 2004 the WEU is still very much alive and much European military
planning takes place within its constituent cells.
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