Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 4 Jun 1992

Vol. 420 No. 7

Written Answers. - Defence Alliance.

Ivor Callely

Question:

78 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the options available to Ireland on defence alliance under the current EC Treaties; if there are any new European defence arrangements such as Western European Union Defence Alliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews)

There are no defence commitments for Ireland under the Treaties establishing the European Communities or the Single European Act. This position will not change under the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. The European Union will not be empowered, under the Treaty's provisions, to act in the defence area.

Discussions and decisions on the scope and content of a common defence policy and on the question of a common defence for the Union are left to a future negotiation and another intergovernmental conference to take place in 1996. The outcome of that negotiation will require the unanimous approval of all the member states. It is very likely that the outcome of such a negotiation, if it is of any substance, could not be ratified here without a constitutional amendment and the Taoiseach accordingly has stated that a further referendum will be necessary at that point in relation to any proposals which emerge.

The Maastricht Treaty establishes a relationship between the European Union and the Western European Union, WEU, which is set out in Article J.4 of the Chapter on the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Under this Article, the Union requests the Western European Union, which is described as an integral part of the development of the European Union, to elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications.

The Maastricht Treaty does not oblige Ireland to join the Western European Union or to take up any obligations under the Treaty establishing the Western European Union or to subscribe to any of the policy positions adopted by the Western European Union. At the time of the Maastricht European Council, however, the member states of the Western European Union in a separate declaration issued an invitation to the members of the European Union who are not members of the Western European Union — Ireland, Denmark and Greece — to accede to the Western European Union on conditions to be agreed or to become observers. The Government do not intend that Ireland should become a member of the Western European Union but they see advantages in Ireland taking up observer status in the Western European Union and this possibility is now under consideration.