Vol. 574 No. 3
56 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the concerns from organisations such as Dóchas that the EU draft Constitution opens the way for EC aid to be made a resource for the EU's European Security and Defence Policy, citing in particular Article 40.4, part 1, and Article III-210; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26773/03]
The values which must inform the European Union's activities in its external actions are set out in Article I-3 of the draft Constitutional Treaty under which the Union is obliged to "contribute to peace, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and protection of human rights and in particular children's rights, as well as to the strict observance and development of international law, including respect for the United Nations Charter". The Government has welcomed this clear statement of principle, believing that it is fully consistent with the values and beliefs of the Irish people.
These values are further elaborated in article III-193 of the draft treaty, which sets out the broad framework of the Union's external actions, and in article III-218, which makes specific provision for the Union's activity in the area of development co-operation. The latter, in particular, states clearly that "Union development co-operation policy shall have as its primary aim the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty. The Union shall take account of the objectives of development co-operation in the policies that it implements which are likely to affect developing countries".
The draft treaty, therefore, makes it explicitly clear that the Union's principal aim in its approach to the developing world is the eradication of poverty and that all policies that could have an impact on developing countries must be consistent with that approach. The focus on the eradication of poverty, and the need to test Union policies against this aim, is fully consistent with the Irish Government's approach.
The new treaty also, for the first time, provides a legal base for emergency humanitarian aid. Article III-223 states clearly that all such operations "shall be conducted in compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of impartiality and non-discrimination". The articles that Dóchas cites refer to the implementation of the Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, including the Petersberg Tasks, and are specific to that area. They do not make development assistance a resource in the conduct of security policy.
