asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he proposes to raise in the forthcoming European Council the security implications for the Community of the recent INF Treaty agreed upon between the USSR and USA; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - INF Treaty.
38.
Along with our European partners, we are very conscious of the importance of the political aspects of the agreement on the elimination of intermediate range nuclear weapons. These aspects of the matter were considered in some detail at the meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen on 4 and 5 December 1987. In the Declaration on East-West relations issued after that meeting the Twelve referred to the significance of the INF Agreement, expressed the hope that it would enter into force soon and stated that it was essential that this achievement on nuclear arms control should give further impetus to substantive progress in the whole range of present and future bilateral US-Soviet and multilateral negotiations on arms control and disarmament. Negotiations are going ahead in all these areas. This matter arose only yesterday at a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Brussels which I attended. We are taking positive steps to activate in a more meaningful way the Vienna process of CSCE which has become dormant in recent times.
I thank the Minister for his reply. He is probably aware that the question was originally tabled to the Taoiseach — hence the reference to the forthcoming European Council — and it was obviously transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Would the Minister specifically outline what bilateral action the Government propose to take within the various Councils of the European Community to activate the Vienna process and what measures he has in mind as a result of the INF Treaty, which directly concern European nations in general and the European Community in particular?
We had a full discussion of this matter yesterday and it is fresh in my mind. The Twelve have adopted a united stance which places emphasis on the human rights dimension. We are talking about all human rights, not just the spectacular human rights which get headlines, but human rights as they affect ordinary people. I am talking about a whole range of rights ranging from freedom of persons to freedom of religion, freedom of trial, freedom of movement and so on. The Twelve have prepared a comprehensive dossier and the decision taken was to contact the co-ordinator of the neutral and non-aligned countries — an Austrian member of the CSCE — with a view to adopting a unified approach not just within the Community, but also with the neutral non-aligned countries like Sweden and Austria.
At coming meetings we should put emphasis on the whole range of economic and security matters on which decisions must be reached, such as the reduction in conventional forces and economic co-operation. All these areas are basically dependent on the very real advance in human rights. Now is the appropriate time to exercise the necessary leverage in this respect if the Eastern European countries, particularly the Soviet Union, want progress in the economic and security areas. As far as the western European democracies in and outside the Community are concerned, their main interest is human rights from the Atlantic to the Urals and this is the appropriate time to press this matter. There is very strong feeling in the Twelve at present that hopefully we will reach finality on these matters before the summer.
Would the Minister give the House an assurance that the Irish representatives at that or other related Councils, will continue to encourage the Twelve to urge the Soviet Union and the United States to proceed with their talks for a gradual balance of disarmament on both sides and that such encouragement should not necessarily be intrinsically linked with progress on the human rights side?
When I was talking about progress on the human rights side, I was talking about East-West relations within Europe. As far as talks between the two super powers are concerned, the actions in the INF area are very welcome and the Community fully supports them——
Including the British?
The two approaches can move together. We can have the CSCE process as regards East-West relations within Europe running in tandem with the on-going discussions and negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Federal Republic of Germany is taking a very strong supportive line in this area and their Presidency of the Community, which they hold at present, is being utilised to the maximum extent to make progress along the lines the Deputy and I are discussing.