Dr. Kenneth McDonagh:

I thank the committee for the invitation to speak to it on the subject of EU strategic autonomy. I am an associate professor of international relations and the head of the school of law and government at Dublin City University. I have been engaged in research on EU security and defence policy for the past decade, including a focus on Ireland's engagement in Common Security and Defence Policy missions, the European Parliament’s role in oversight of CSDP missions, and the gendered impact of CSDP missions in the western Balkans. My comments today will focus on the opportunities European security and defence co-operation provide to Ireland to address key gaps in our own capabilities and to address key threats to our national interests.

Addressing a meeting of EU ambassadors, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, argued that the EU is facing the consequences of a world where "we have decoupled the sources of our prosperity from the sources of our security". He argued that, on the one hand, European prosperity has benefited from low-cost energy from Russia and cheap manufactured goods from China while, on the other hand, it has outsourced responsibility for its security to the United States. Although the response to the Russian escalation of its war with Ukraine has mobilised more European military support than many thought possible, this support remains fundamentally underwritten by US capabilities and enablers, both practical and political.

Moving to a point where the EU has the capacity to act independently in the face of external threat or crisis is the essence of strategic autonomy. This involves a defence industry capable of independent production of armaments and munitions; member state militaries with key capabilities as fighting forces and key enablers of conducting modern warfare; and a political and diplomatic system fit for purpose that allows the EU to have a clear vision of the threats it faces, a co-ordinated voice in international affairs, and an ability to match its capabilities to its political objectives in a coherent manner. The strategic compass, published a year ago, is the latest attempt to articulate this at a political level.

To achieve these objectives, over recent years the EU has put in place a set of key initiatives and institutions to empower member states to develop their military capabilities in a co-ordinated way. The European Defence Agency, PESCO, the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, CARD, and the European Defence Fund each represent opportunities for member states to identify defence procurement, investment and development opportunities and to work with other member states to achieve these in a cost-effective and co-ordinated manner.

Separate to these, as part of the programme for Government, the Commission on the Defence Forces was established. This reported in February of last year. The commission outlined three levels of ambition. Level of ambition 1, business as usual, would leave Ireland without any effective defence capability. Level of ambition 2, the option currently being pursued, allows for a significant increase in defence spending, an increase in the established strength of the Defence Forces and the purchase of basic equipment that will, for the first time, provide a picture of what is in our skies and seas. These are necessary and welcome steps. Level of ambition 3 outlines the steps required to bring Ireland's defence capabilities in line with comparable European countries.

It is important that Ireland considers carefully how we can leverage EU structures to develop our own defence capabilities. In July 2022, the Dáil approved the Government's decision to become full participants in four further PESCO projects in the areas of cyber threats, disaster relief capability, special operations forces medical training and mine counter-measures. This is in addition to an ongoing project on maritime surveillance in which Ireland participates. There was an earlier project involving training for peacekeeping missions that has since ended. Ireland is also an observer on a further five projects, which may develop into full participation in time.

Out of a total of 60 PESCO projects, Ireland is participating in less than 10%. The Commission on the Defence Forces recommended that Ireland should exploit to a greater degree the opportunities provided by PESCO. Such an approach makes sense as Ireland seeks to rebuild its defence capabilities. Involvement in further PESCO projects, such as those on a European patrol corvette, a future midsize tactical cargo aircraft and an armoured infantry fighting vehicle, would represent steps towards some of the level of ambition 3 goals outlined in the commission's report.

To circle back to the point made by Josep Borrell which I quoted earlier, Ireland, like its European partners, is now facing the consequences of decoupling our security from our prosperity. We are rightly proud to be an island with global reach and with an economy that has built its prosperity on international investment in areas where cyber security is key. Ireland has benefited from living in a geopolitically stable part of the world with no immediate enemies, but the realities of the modern world have reduced the buffer zone provided by geography, bringing once distant threats to our door or placing our people in harm's way abroad.

For example, the evacuation of Irish citizens from Afghanistan relied on help from our friends. France and Finland provided space on their aircraft to enable this. We need to ask ourselves difficult questions about whether our global ambitions can be underwritten by the kindness of strangers or if we are willing to take the serious steps necessary to develop the types of capabilities that will help Ireland to be safe, prosperous and influential for decades to come. The EU initiatives towards achieving strategic autonomy present one avenue for pursuing these goals.