Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

We are completely against the ratification of the status of forces agreement. We are against the process of militarisation which is happening across the European Union. We are against the integration of Ireland with NATO through the process of the so-called Partnership for Peace. These agreements are designed to facilitate the further process of militarisation. That is the truth.

The model for the status of forces agreement is the NATO model. It is a model which is used, especially by the US, to allow its troops not to be subject to the jurisdiction of host states and their troops have a very long and inglorious record of avoiding the justice system in those states when their troops commit crimes, even when off duty. These agreements provide the legal framework to smooth the process of further involvement of Irish military forces in EU and Partnership for Peace deployments. The Government and Fianna Fáil like to say the deployments are for humanitarian reasons but the truth, unfortunately, is otherwise. There is a galloping process of militarisation of the European Union to which we have been drawing attention in recent years. I will give a couple of recent examples which illustrate the point. Angela Merkel, not in some unguarded comment or minor speech, but in a speech in the European Parliament in November said: "We have to create a European intervention unit with which Europe can act on the ground where necessary ... We have taken major steps in the field of military co-operation ... we have to work on a vision to establish a real European army one day." That was linked to a call for a move away from unanimity on the matters of defence and foreign policy. Mrs. Merkel said: "in the long run, Europe has to become more capable to act. We have to reconsider our ways of deciding and to renounce the principle of unanimity" while proposing a European security council. That is already taking effect in the significant increase in the amount of European money going on defence spending and research spending on defence. It is also taking effect in the moves towards the creation of a European military headquarters.

See this speech in context