Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy. The Commissioner has been helpful to the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, in his efforts to move the issue forward. I will meet the Austrian Government this week and we will discuss that issue.

On European security and defence, there is no change in the position of last autumn and the agreement still holds. Nobody is opening up that matter. It is anticipated that structured co-operation will be used to develop member states' capabilities. Member states are not required to indicate whether they will participate in structured co-operation at the Intergovernmental Conference and decisions regarding participation will only arise at a later stage. The criteria for participation in the area of structured co-operation are set out in the draft protocol, which includes a reference to capability and use at the request of the United Nations.

Throughout the discussions on security and defence in the IGC the Government, with a number of other Governments, has held the position that any new arrangements should be based on openness, inclusivity and accountability. The current proposal on structured co-operation reflects those general principles and can be supported by Ireland.

The focus on developing capabilities has always been in the context of Petersberg Tasks operations as well as EU support for UN crisis management and we have stuck to that. We have a proven record in peacekeeping crisis management, most recently demonstrated in the Liberia operation. It should be possible to agree arrangements in the EU to facilitate the diversity of the contributions that all partners can bring to this area.

I do not believe there are difficulties with this proposal. If the EU is to make a contribution internationally, we need to further develop its capabilities for conflict prevention. The proposal has been made in the context of conflict prevention and is based on the Petersberg Tasks. Nothing has changed in that regard.

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