members of the European Union. The Treaty on European Union proclaims in Art. 6 the importance of human rights within both member states and European institutions. Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union 1. The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles that are common to the Member States. 2. The Union shall respect fundamental rights as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, as general principles of Community law. The European Council may, with the assent of the European Parliament, decide to investigate persistent and serious human rights breaches in a member state and impose sanctions by suspending the rights of the state.45 In addition, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was adopted in Nice in 2000.46 European law also protects human rights more specifically and narrowly through Treaty provisions, regulations, and directives dealing with issues such as equality (see Chapters 12-14). Moreover, judicial doctrine requires effective enforcement of the fundamental rights of citizens of the Union not just at the European level (for example, the European Court of Justice) but also in the national legal systems of each member state. The application of these principles to members of the armed forces within European Union states tends, however, to be more problematic because of arguments about the competence of European institutions to make law concerning national armed forces. Both the treaties and specific directives contain a number of exceptions protecting national sovereignty over defence matters. Nonetheless, in specific instances where these do not apply, European law may be successfully used to protect the rights of members of the armed forces (see, for example, the Kreuil case discussed in Chapter 13, Box 13.4). 45  Treaty of European Union, Art. 7. 46  “Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union”, Official Journal of the European Communities, 18 December 2000, 2000/C 364/01, <http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/human_rights/doc/charter_364_01en. pdf>. 41 Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel