Irish neutrality is fully protected under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty

Posted on 10/08/09 by Brian Crowley The three Fianna Fail MEPs Brian Crowley, Pat the Cope Gallagher and Liam Aylward today said that Irish neutrality is fully protected under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty.

Brian Crowley MEP said that " many people were concerned during the referendum campaign of last year that the Lisbon Treaty diminished Irish neutrality. That is why I fully welcome and support the legal guarantee concerning defence and security issues which was agreed for Ireland by EU leaders at their last summit in June.
The terms of this guarantee which is legally binding are very clear. The Lisbon Treaty does not provide for the creation of a European army or for conscription. The Lisbon Treaty does not affect the right for Ireland or any other EU member state to determine the volume and the nature of its defence and security expenditure."

Pat the Cope Gallagher MEP said that " the bottom line here is that this legally binding guarantee means that Ireland decides issues concerning our defence policy and no one else. The proposed constitutional amendment to ratify the Lisbon Treaty re-affirms the prohibition on joining a common EU defence arrangement. This means that Ireland could not join any future common EU defence structure unless the Irish people voted specifically for this issue. Irish membership of the European Defence Agency (E.D.A.) is voluntary and we will assess whether to participate on any future programmes that will be carried out by the E.D.A. on a case by case basis. "

Liam Aylward MEP said that " The deployment of Irish troops on a peacekeeping mission abroad must comply with the ' triple lock' arrangement. This means that the Irish Government and Dail Eireann must agree to the deployment of Irish troops abroad and such a mission must be in accordance with a specific mandate of the United Nations. Irish people are rightly very proud of our Irish troops who have taken part on peacekeeping missions in many parts of the world since the 1950s."

The three Fianna Fail MEPs said that the new legally binding guarantees and the fact that Ireland can now nominate one member of the European Commission at all times into the future provides a new basis on which to ask the Irish people to ratify the Lisbon Treaty."