Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to formally oppose this motion and this deployment, which undermine Irish neutrality. Sinn Féin is committed to an independent and progressive Irish international relations policy with Irish neutrality at its core. Sinn Féin's support for neutrality is the product of a well-developed and coherent republican position stretching over 200 years of Irish history. Our interpretation of sovereignty of the people and national self-determination includes the freedom to determine one's relationships with other nations. This motion pertains to Ireland's participation in a EU battle group from July to December 2016 with Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Croatia. Each of the 18 battle groups consists of a battalion-sized force of 1,500 troops reinforced with combat support elements. The formation of battle groups allows the European Union to deploy troops and military equipment quickly to regions as far as 6,000 km from Brussels for a minimum of 30 days, which can be extended to 120 days if they are resupplied. They are designed as a rapid reaction force that can deploy anywhere within that range, supposedly within six days. While some people try to portray these battle groups as humanitarian soldiers, their ultimate purpose is right there in the name - that is, they are primarily established to go into battle. Sinn Féin considers these battle groups to be more about military powers in Europe wishing to push Europe in a certain direction militarily than about a sense of responsibility to peacekeeping.

Just as with the euro, it is possible to be a member of the European Union and not support or participate in its militarisation via the battle groups. While some neutral countries such as Austria are taking part, Malta does not, and Denmark, which is a NATO member, has an opt-out for this and all other areas of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy.

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