Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

What is revealed in this type of question is another contradiction at the heart of the European Union — I say this as somebody who is in favour of the European Union — in terms of diplomatic activity which is scant in regard to, say, the Middle East, with all due respect to Javier Solana and Tony Blair, whose presence has not achieved much.

During the past four and a half years, the European Union sold a total of 9.1 billion armaments to the Middle East. The figure for 2004 was just over 4 billion. The European Union, in its armaments industry, has been pouring armaments into the Middle East at the same time as it has remained silent on options in respect of the quartet proposals on US withdrawal. Will the Minister agree that in terms of securing a balanced foreign and security policy the most serious implications could be drawn from the bad faith involved in that regard? Some 156 Deputies and MEPs have signed Amnesty's petition. There are 1,600 parliamentarians around the world, including the United Nations.

The armaments industry is alive and well in the European Union.

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