Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 March 2015
120. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence the discussions that took place at the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Riga on 18 February 2015; the position he took on the review of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy; and if it will have implications for the work and deployment of the Defence Forces. [11664/15]
View answerI have tabled this question to find out more about what was discussed at the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Riga last month. Irish citizens and others throughout Europe are opposed to the further militarisation of the European Union and concerned about future developments in the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, especially as it works its way towards the creation of a standing EU army.
First, there is no standing EU army and as there are no plans for one, I am not sure where the Deputy is coming from in his question. It seems to suggest the informal meeting of Defence Ministers in Riga recently was undercover but nothing could be further from the truth. The most recent informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers took place in Riga, Latvia on 18 and 19 February. The informal defence ministerial meeting is not a decision-making forum, rather it provides an opportunity for Defence Ministers to discuss current issues and review ongoing progress in Common Security and Defence Policy developments. As such, the meeting did not have new implications for the work and-or deployment of the Defence Forces.
The first working session during the informal meeting was focused on preparations for the June 2015 European Council at which the issue of defence will be on the agenda. Clarification was provided by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the process leading to the June meeting and the issues she regarded as priorities for Heads of State. She informed Ministers of her intention to initiate a process to review the European security strategy and produce a new foreign and security policy. In her presentation to the European Council she will signal the launch of the process.
The meeting of Defence Ministers continued with discussions on the importance of strategic communications and the complex issue of hybrid conflict such as we have seen in Ukraine and Syria. Strategic communications are a key enabler in securing popular support for the activities of the European Union in crisis management operations.
During the final working session Ministers were briefed on the ongoing Common Security and Defence Policy military operations. During this session there was also a forward-looking briefing, linking rapid response and the battle groups with possible scenarios and concrete crisis areas. In the past few days I had the privilege of visiting, meeting and spending some time with the Irish troops in Mali in west Africa in one of the EU-backed missions. I take the opportunity to congratulate them on the impressive project on which they have embarked in undertaking a training mission in Mali.
I hope my question did not suggest what the Minister said it did, namely, that there was a hidden agenda. That was not my intention in tabling the question, rather I was trying to find out what had been discussed. For instance, given that the Council meeting was held in Riga, was there a discussion of the Maltese navy and its call for help from the European Union in dealing with the continuing migrant problem on the Mediterranean? The UNHCR has stated that this year alone 3,500 migrants will die on the Mediterranean in trying to access the European Union. Was there a discussion of whether more could be done by way of an EU search and rescue effort? Ireland recently offered the decommissioned LE Aoife to the Maltese. Could more be done by neutral states such as ours?
The Minister has said there is no question of having a standing army, but the Secretary General of NATO stated in his opening remarks, "During these challenging times ... NATO Allies spend more on defence, and spend better." Does the Minister agree with him and that it should be the other way around - that less should be spent in Europe on defence, given that more than €200 billion is spent by EU countries during a time of austerity?
They are all very fair questions. We have an agreement to provide the LE Aoife which has been decommissioned to be used in Malta for security purposes and as part of a more effective response to the migration and human challenges faced by it.
There has been some media coverage to the contrary but Malta is delighted to accept the vessel. We will help to train the crew and make sure they are fully trained on the vessel before it leaves from Haulbowline to sail to Malta. We are confident the vessel will be able to perform the function asked of it for the next four or five years while Malta goes through the process of securing a newer vessel for that purpose. It is a good example of collaboration between two relatively small European states. Ireland is not a member of NATO and has no intention of joining NATO. Any comments from NATO representatives apply to NATO member states. I will reply further on budgets in the next response.
The final supplementary question is about comments made since the Riga meeting and related by Jean-Claude Junker, President of the European Commission, and backed up by the German defence Minister, who reissued a call heard for a number of years on the urgent creation of a standing EU army. That was the context in which I was asking the question. Does the Minister agree with the comments by the President of the European Commission? Does he believe deepening EU military integration is inevitable and positive? I have the opposite view.
I can only speak for Ireland and different Ministers will have different views on this. I do not envisage Ireland being part of the development of a European army. Through the Partnership for Peace, we are part of the battle groups structure, which is a voluntary structure. Countries volunteer to be part of a certain battle group and we are part of the Nordic battle group, which is something Ireland has agreed to be part of. The collaboration, training and interoperability between the member states that are part of the effort exists so that if Europe collectively must respond to a crisis, which we have not yet used battle groups for, we have the capacity to do so. Various member states contribute to the effort but that is not the same as a European army. From a military perspective, Ireland is the neutral country and we determine our own affairs. If Irish troops go anywhere, it is subject to the triple lock and it will remain like that for the foreseeable future.
