Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can only speak for Ireland and different Ministers will have different views on this. I do not envisage Ireland being part of the development of a European army. Through the Partnership for Peace, we are part of the battle groups structure, which is a voluntary structure. Countries volunteer to be part of a certain battle group and we are part of the Nordic battle group, which is something Ireland has agreed to be part of. The collaboration, training and interoperability between the member states that are part of the effort exists so that if Europe collectively must respond to a crisis, which we have not yet used battle groups for, we have the capacity to do so. Various member states contribute to the effort but that is not the same as a European army. From a military perspective, Ireland is the neutral country and we determine our own affairs. If Irish troops go anywhere, it is subject to the triple lock and it will remain like that for the foreseeable future.

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