Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for that. I welcome his contribution at any time. I wish everyone a happy Christmas and a well-deserved break. I take on board the point made by Deputy Boyd Barrett that many people are not in a position to enjoy Christmas, and we keep them in our minds in the work we do here.

I will address some issues raised by my colleagues, many of which focused on the role of the CSDP and the discussion that will take place at the upcoming Council meeting. It is understandable that Deputies raise questions and views on this point because it is the first time in many years that the CSDP has been a discussion topic at a European Council meeting. It is understandable that it is the subject of questions in the Chamber.

The discussion tomorrow and Friday is the culmination of a process that began last December. The European Council of December 2012 adopted conclusions calling on the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, and the European Commission to develop further proposals and actions to strengthen the CSDP and improve the availability of the required civilian and military capabilities through a strengthened European defence industry. The preparatory process has been ongoing since that time. During Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, for example, we hosted a series of seminars that provided member states, the European External Action Service, and international organisations such as the UN and the African Union with an opportunity to exchange views on issues related to crisis management and peacekeeping.

Earlier this year, as key inputs to the process, the High Representative circulated a report on the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, while the European Commission published a communication entitled "Towards a more competitive and efficient defence and security sector". Last month, EU foreign and defence Ministers held a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, at which they discussed and subsequently agreed a comprehensive set of conclusions on the CSDP. All of these will feed into the conclusions to be discussed in Brussels tomorrow.

CSDP, as set out in the Lisbon treaty, is an integral part of the CFSP. It is intended to equip the Union with operational capacity for missions outside the EU aimed at strengthening international peace and security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations charter. I want to emphasise two points to address the concerns raised by Deputies. All development of policy in this area takes place within the architecture set out by the Lisbon treaty and voted on by the Irish people. That explicitly recognises the foreign and security policy principles of our country, particularly our affirmed neutrality. That is the framework within which the discussions take place.

The second point I want to emphasise is that of the types of operation in which Irish troops and civilians have been involved since the implementation of the Lisbon treaty and since policy in the area has developed. The operations were in Chad, Somalia and Gaza, all of which involved attempting to that ensure vulnerable people had access to the principles of the United Nations charter, including the protection of their human rights and protection from difficulty. Across that period, in the policy as formulated, we have seen members of our armed forces and civilians participate in operations that explicitly recognise the neutral stance and policy of our country and are also designed to deliver to people in need of affirmation of the principles of the United Nations and the values that underpin it. It has been in existence for ten years and, in that time, the EU has launched 30 missions, two thirds of which have been civilian and one third military.

The EU is currently conducting a total of 17 missions, 13 of which are civilian and four are military. Ireland, as the Taoiseach mentioned, is currently contributing to six civilian and three military missions.

After ten years in existence it is generally accepted among member states that the CSDP needs to be reinvigorated. The European Council is likely to suggest ways in which this can be achieved. In order to increase the effectiveness of and impact of the CSDP, it will important for the EU to adopt a comprehensive approach to crises as they arise. The EU must work closely with its partners, such as the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, NATO and the African Union is this regard. It needs to be able to plan and deploy the right civilian and military assets rapidly and effectively. We continue to place great emphasis on partnership between the EU and the UN in the area of crisis management. In order for CSDP to remain as an effective and credible tool, the EU will also need to continue to improve and develop the capabilities to be used in future CSDP missions. In that regard, the European Council is likely to highlight ways in which this can be done. The European Defence Agency, EDA, plays an important role in this regard and the European Council is likely to prioritise certain co-operative projects between the EDA and member states, such as air-to-air refuelling capacity, satellite communication and cyber- and remotely piloted aircraft systems.

The final area the European Council is expected to discuss is the strengthening of Europe's defence industry. In the context of the Commission communication which I referred to earlier-----

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