A DECISION by Ireland to join the NATO sponsored Partnership for Peace (PFP) would not require a referendum, the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, announced yesterday. "There is neither a basis nor a need for a referendum on participation in PFP," he said, "which imposes no treaty obligations of any sort, no mutual defence commitments and which has no implications for our policy of military neutrality."
Responding to a written question from the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, Mr Spring said a decision to join the PFP would be subject to a motion on the terms and scope of any participation by Ireland being approved by the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The PFP is a co operative security initiative in which almost all members of the Organisation for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE), including the 16 NATO countries, participate. The Swiss government formally announced its decision to join on Wednesday.
Mr Spring suggested yesterday that a decision to participate in the PFP would not be in breach of the declaration signed by the four party leaders before the Maastricht Treaty. It contained a commitment confirming that any decision arising from the EU's 1996 Intergovernmental Conference on defence for the EU would require a further referendum, he explained.
This commitment is contained in the current programme for government and repeated in the White Paper on Foreign Policy.
The Tanaiste also said officials of his Department and the Department of Defence had consultations with NATO on June 20th last to explore further the benefits which Ireland could derive from the PFP.
"These consultations were entirely satisfactory and confirmed our understanding that each participating state can determine the terms and scope of its contribution; that participation would have no implications for our policy of military neutrality; and that PFP has already proven itself as a key forum for peacekeeping co operation involving almost all of the major peacekeeping countries," he said.
