PEACEKEEPING:IRELAND'S MILITARY neutrality will not be compromised by the Lisbon Treaty, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea said yesterday.
Speaking at a Fianna Fáil press briefing on peacekeeping and the Lisbon Treaty, Mr O’Dea said the treaty would help the EU play an increasing role in responding to crises, and in maintaining international peace and security.
“The EU, as one of the wealthiest trading blocks, has obligations on the international stage to become a force for peace, prosperity and justice,” said Mr O’Dea.
“As we have shown over the past 50 years we can do this without compromising our military neutrality. In fact, our neutrality has been central to success. It encapsulates our vision of Ireland as the bridge between the developed and developing world.”
He said Ireland was morally obliged to fulfil that role. “It should be a matter of pride for us that we have contributed to all the major EU military operations launched under the Common Foreign and Security Policy which were only possible because of our Yes votes on past treaties.
“Each operation has been firmly grounded in UN mandates. In Indonesia, the Western Balkans, Palestine and Chad, the EU is showing how it will continue to be a force for peace in the world.
“The changes proposed in the treaty will add a new impetus to these very welcome developments and provide the institutional framework to drive them forward,” he said.
Speaking at the same briefing, Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche criticised Sinn Féin for its opposition to the treaty. He said Sinn Féin’s contention that successive EU treaties had eroded Ireland’s neutrality had been wrong every time.
Mr Roche said Sinn Féin had opposed treaties since 1972 on that basis. “Every argument that Sinn Féin has put forward on this issue over the past 36 years has been without foundation,” he claimed.
“The reason why Sinn Féin is again trotting out this attack is because they know that the Irish people value our tradition of neutrality.
“In the unlikely event that anyone were to propose an end to neutrality it would be for the people alone to decide through a separate referendum,” he said.
Mr O’Dea said there was a lot of misinformation about the treaty’s requirement for certain capabilities on the military side to keep improving.
That did not necessarily mean a bigger budget but more efficient use of resources.
