Madam, - Tom Clonan's article on the implications of the Lisbon Treaty for military co-operation between EU member-states, including Ireland, is very valuable (Opinion & Analysis, January 29th). Likewise, recent articles by Lara Marlowe (January 28th and 29th) provide crucial information on the EU's military intervention in Chad, which will involve 429 Irish soldiers. The combination of the possible future (the Lisbon Treaty) and the present (Chad) is instructive.
The Lisbon Treaty extends the range of tasks EU forces may perform outside Europe - in Africa and elsewhere - to include, among others, "military advice and assistance tasks" and "supporting third countries in combating terrorism in their territories". As Tom Clonan points out, "this very broad statement. . .includes the fullest possible spectrum of military operations".
As Lara Marlowe's reports make clear, French troops stationed in Chad have for many years been instrumental in keeping the dictator Idriss Déby in power. Déby's regime is not only corrupt and repressive, it also helps foment conflict in neighbouring Darfur, Sudan. Rebels in Chad opposed to Déby see the French as their enemy. They are unlikely to distinguish between French troops shoring up Déby and those nominally serving under an EU flag. More than half the EU force will be French; and while an Irishman has overall command of the operation, his headquarters is in France and the commander of forces on the ground will be French.
It is possible that fears about Irish troops being associated with a regressive French foreign and military policy will prove unfounded, and that the EU's stated aim of protecting refugees will be fulfilled without loss of Irish or other life. One can only hope so. But the Chad operation highlights the fears that many Irish people have about the direction of Irish and EU military developments, even before the Lisbon Treaty takes us further down the same road. Might Ireland's honourable record of impartial participation in UN peacekeeping be compromised by participation in EU operations that could serve as fig-leaves for the promotion of the interests of the French state, or of other EU states?
It is precisely because of such concerns that opponents of the Lisbon Treaty are alarmed at the proposals to extend the types of tasks EU forces may engage in. Might "military advice and assistance tasks" and "supporting third countries in combating terrorism" constitute euphemisms for helping the likes of Idriss Déby suppress those opposed to his rule? What safeguards (other than stated good intentions) are in place to ensure that increasingly wide-ranging EU military interventions are undertaken with genuinely humanitarian principles in mind?
Until such time as these questions can be satisfactorily answered, many Irish people will be reluctant to vote in favour of a treaty that says member-states "shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities". Would it not be useful, at the very least, first to have a far clearer idea of what those military capabilities would be used for? - Yours, etc,
ANDY STOREY,
UCD,
Dublin 4.
Madam, - Does anyone know who the current President of the European Council is? Does anyone care? Would anyone agree that this lack of knowledge about European leaders has resulted in a weaker and disconnected EU? The six-month rotation of the presidency of the Council of Ministers served a purpose in its time but it is now defunct.
The Lisbon Treaty will amend the presidency of the Council so that it will become a two-and-a-half year term. This does not mean a "federal Europe", but is one of the measures designed to improve identity with EU leaders. It will improve democracy and transparency, not hinder them.
Do ordinary EU citizens know the difference between the job of External Relations Commissioner, currently held by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and the job of High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, held by Javier Solana? They probably don't. That is because there is very little difference. Is it not time to clarify such roles, streamline institutions and job descriptions and, as a result, create stronger links between EU leaders and EU citizens?
The current President of the European Council is Dimitrij Rupel, the foreign minister of Slovenia. Who knows, if the next president of the European Council is Irish, wouldn't we be proud? - Yours, etc,
CHRIS ANDREWS TD,
Dáil Éireann, Dublin 2.