Mr. Gerald Angley:

I am not aware whether there was a proposal made by Ireland but one point that is relevant here is the European Defence Fund, which is in the EU budget, and has that legal basis of Article 173, focused on industry. As I understand it, the ASAP proposal mirrors that as a concerned industrial matter. That is what I am aware of. That is the reason the European Defence Fund is within the multi-annual financial framework and it is the reason this ASAP is within the multi-annual financial framework. As my colleague from the Department of Defence outlined, we follow this closely, although we look at the numbers more than the policy behind it. We do follow each item closely and understand that there are layers of legal checking that go through the European Parliament process and the Council process. Even when the Commission makes its proposals, it really tests the legality of its use. The sincere belief across the board, which was accepted by other military neutral states, was that this was the correct legal basis for ASAP. That is why it falls into the budget.