I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 76 together.
Work with EU partners towards the establishment of an intergovernmental agency in the field of defence capabilities development, research, acquisition and armaments has been a key priority of the programme of the Irish Presidency of the European Union. Deputies will recall that the conclusions of the European Council held at Thessaloniki in June 2003 tasked the appropriate bodies of the Council to undertake the necessary actions towards creating, in the course of 2004, an intergovernmental agency in the field of defence capabilities development, research, acquisition and armaments.
As I have reported to the House on regular occasions during our Presidency, discussions on the establishment of the agency have been ongoing at EU level and were progressed by way of official level meetings held during our Presidency in Brussels and in Dublin. The issue was also discussed during the informal meeting of Defence Ministers held in Brussels in April 2004 and during the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting with Defence Ministers also held in Brussels in May 2004, on which I will report in more detail later. I am pleased to report that political agreement on the joint action to establish the agency was reached at the GAERC meeting on 14 June 2004. It is now intended that formal adoption of the legal act will take place before the end of the Irish Presidency.
The overall aim of the agency will be to support member states in their efforts to improve European defence capabilities in support of European Security and Defence Policy. At a time when there is little appetite among the EU member states to increase spending on Defence equipment, I have long advocated the necessity to focus on ways in which we can qualitatively improve our capability to carry out peace support operations.
We do not need reminding of the increasing demands on the international community to contribute to UN-authorised peace support operations. Current events in Africa, notably in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as recent events in Kosovo and Liberia, where contingents of the Defence Forces are deployed, have been the cause of serious international concern. If the United Nations is to respond effectively, countries participating on peace support operations in locations such as these must have the necessary resources available, both for the protection of personnel and in order that they may professionally discharge their mandate. It is important, therefore, that the EU should seek to improve competitiveness and efficiency in the defence equipment sector, which has been notable for fragmentation and duplication. The agency is an appropriate method by which this might be achieved. Ireland is not a major consumer of defence equipment. My approach in respect of the creation of the agency and Ireland's participation has been supportive, given that it may yield some economies of scale for equipment procurement for the Defence Forces. In this regard, the question of Ireland's participation in the agency will be considered over the coming weeks. Participation in the framework of the agency would not imply a commitment to participate in any specific project of the agency. Such participation will remain a matter for national decision on a case by case basis.