EU Meetings

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 November 2016

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Questions (25)

Clare Daly

Question:

25. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if the representative from his Department who attended the informal meeting of European Union Defence Ministers in Bratislava on 26 September 2016 had any discussions with the Secretary General of NATO, who was also in attendance, regarding Ireland's neutrality not being compromised by accelerated EU-NATO co-operation; and if he will provide details of the discussions that took place at that meeting. [33810/16]

Oral answers (6 contributions)

Deputy Clare Daly

My question relates to the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Bratislava at the end of September. It took place around a flurry of NATO-related activity. A statement was issued following the meeting, which referred to accelerated practical co-operation between the EU and NATO. What stance did the Minister of State take in those gatherings, given that we are supposed to be a neutral country?

Deputy Paul Kehoe

As I advised the House previously, Dáil and Government business precluded my attendance at the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Bratislava which took place on 26 and 27 September 2016. The Secretary General of the Department of Defence represented me at the meeting. The meeting included a working session which focused on EU-NATO co-operation and, in particular, on the ongoing work to present concrete options for implementation of the joint EU-NATO declaration signed in July 2016. The Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, attended this session.

The declaration highlights seven key areas where the EU and NATO can further strengthen co-operation. They include countering hybrid threats; broadening co-operation on maritime security and migration; expanding co-operation on cyber defence; developing coherent, complementary and interoperable defence capabilities; facilitating a stronger defence industry and defence research; stepping up co-ordination on exercises; and supporting countries in building their defence and security capabilities. They represent practical areas of co-operation in support of international peace and security, international crisis management operations and the protection of civilians. Progress on developing a set of proposals in these key areas, which will be agreed by the EU and NATO Councils, was discussed during this session. The HRVP, Ms. Federica Mogherini, and the Secretary General of NATO will report to the respective Councils in December on options to implement the EU-NATO declaration for their consideration.

Importantly for Ireland, the EU-NATO declaration confirms that future co-operation will fully respect the decision-making autonomy of both organisations and will not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of any member state. As this is already embodied in the declaration, there was no requirement at the recent informal ministerial meeting for the Secretary General in the Department of Defence to raise the issue of Ireland’s neutrality not being compromised by EU-NATO co-operation. Officials in my Department will continue to monitor closely proposals that emerge under the key areas I mentioned.

Deputy Clare Daly

In fairness, the Minister of State and his Department have a fluid interpretation of neutrality. It seems to be the case that whatever NATO wants it gets. It is a little bit Irish, in terms of what other people would understand the definition of neutrality to be. Is the Minister of State concerned, for example, about the fact that a NATO warship docked to refuel in Cork harbour at the weekend? It was manned by Dutch soldiers who were armed with high velocity rifles. Is it acceptable practice for NATO warships to be refuelled in Ireland while engaged in operational work? Is this what we talk about when we refer to enhanced practical co-operation?

My problem is that the Government never seems to refuse any type of military activity. It seems to be the case that NATO is gearing up its aggression against Russia, for example. Do we want some form of conflict? Will Ireland be going along with the EU's new global security strategy? Does the Minister of State agree with the statement on the strategy that soft power is no longer enough? Is this the direction in which we are going? Are we sleepwalking, despite our protestations, into a situation of becoming a minor power in the evolution of NATO across the EU?

Deputy Paul Kehoe

Deputy Daly wants to know whether Ireland has any plans to join NATO. I can assure her that there are no such plans. Ireland's co-operation with NATO will continue to be conducted through the Partnership for Peace process. There has been no change in the policy on Ireland's engagement with NATO or deploying troops to NATO-led missions which require that the mission be UN mandated and have the approval of the Dáil and Government.

The Government's 2015 review of foreign policy and the White Paper on Defence confirm that Ireland will continue to maintain a policy of military neutrality that is characterised by non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in common or mutual defence arrangements.

The only relationship we have with NATO is through Partnership for Peace, which was launched in January 1994 as a means of outreach to new democracies in central and eastern Europe and as a way to promote stability and strengthen relationships through the promotion of practical co-operation. Since Ireland joined Partnership for Peace, it has been joined by both states that wish to become NATO members and states that do not. Partnership for Peace includes the neutral or non-aligned states of Finland, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland. Ireland became a member of Partnership for Peace and of its political counterpart, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, in December 1999.

Deputy Clare Daly

The problem is that there is no peace in Europe and a large number of refugees are a consequence of the war efforts of imperial powers. To date, the reality is that our neutrality has not stood in the way of Ireland's participation in the ever increasing militarisation of Europe. The Minister of State did not comment on the fact that a NATO warship with Dutch military personnel onboard was openly engaged in activity and refuelling in Cork harbour last weekend. It is an Irish solution to an Irish problem to say that we are neutral yet, at the same time, we do not stand in the way of the massive number of military aircraft that pass through our so-called civilian airports on the way to perhaps refuel aircraft in Saudi Arabia, to decimate people in Yemen or destabilise the Middle East.

The Minister of State states that we are neutral but the reality is that everything we have done has been done to facilitate NATO. Will we be going along with the EU's new global security strategy? What does it mean for us? We do have a strategic link with these countries.

Deputy Paul Kehoe

I refute Deputy Daly's assertion that whatever NATO wants it gets. I assure her that is not the case. It would be wrong of me or any Member of this House to refer to our neutrality policy in loose terms. Our neutrality policy is and has been of the utmost importance in any decision that this Government, or any previous one, has made in this House. We have never gone beyond it. Our neutrality is often debated in this House and everyone has been given an opportunity to participate in those debates.

Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.