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

There are significant differences though because, as I said, what happened in Kosovo was in accordance with international law and a UN resolution but that did not happen in the case of Crimea. I suggest that is the point of difference.

I agree with the point Senator Jim D’Arcy made that the most important principle of all is international law. I also agree with his point on Kosovo which is similar to the one I just made. Like him, I believe the European Union will have a big impact on what happens in Ukraine. He is correct to say that at the moment one of the most important contributions we can make is to try to make Ukraine stable and to ensure that economic support is available to it in what will be a challenging period.

That leads me to a point made by Senator Reilly, with which I agree, namely, that one of the most important things we can do at the moment is to support Ukraine in its journey to make its own decisions on the future and make sure it has the correct socio-economic circumstances in which to do it.

Senator Leyden made the point that the European Union is being provocative and forced the situation. I completely disagree with the point. I have explained why that is the case. I agree with the decision that was made in the Council of Europe. Senator Leyden also referred to exports and the impact on them, including the impact on our stability and the recovery we want to happen and continue in the future. I am deeply aware of all of the economic considerations involved and other matters that must be taken into account. As we weigh all of that up, it is vital to take account of the fact that the borders of a country on the continent of Europe were unilaterally changed. That is a major event that will have significant consequences that will ripple through us all and affect many other decisions that will be made in decades to come.

I wish to conclude on one point made by Senator Norris on which Senator Barrett picked up, namely, Russia being a member of the European Union at some point in the future. If Senator Barrett had said in the late 1980s in this House that we would end up in a situation where we would have many of the Baltic states as members of the European Union, a peaceful end to the Cold War and the USSR dissolve in a way that did not trigger war across the entire Continent many would have questioned the likelihood of such a vision. However, that is what happened.