Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting to watch the Minister squirm about the use of the term "battle group," because it is as though the EU forgot to pass this particular terminology through the regular EU doublespeak machine, with the result that it is honestly termed "battle group," which does what it says on the tin - that is, it does what people would expect. The issue is that in other European countries, the establishments need not pretend to be in favour of neutrality in the manner of Fine Gael, which occasionally doffs the hat towards neutrality while at the same time agitating against the policy of neutrality. Members should be aware that Ireland is committing 175 soldiers to be part of the battle group led and effectively organised by the German military command, which can put 3,000 soldiers on the ground. The kind of equipment being made available by the Irish Defence Forces includes an Orbiter unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, as well as communications and sniper equipment. The first of these, the UAV, is a military drone, which, together with the sniper rifles, means this is not about helping people affected by natural disasters but is about going to war. This supposedly neutral country, which allows American weaponry to land in Shannon Airport on the way to Iraq and Afghanistan, where it will kill innocent people, proposes to be available for participation in a battle group. I am not asking Members to trust me about this; they should trust Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, a former Secretary General of NATO, who stated that EU battle groups could be used to go to war. He said:

Why is the EU creating battlegroups? It is not just to help rebuild a country. The battlegroups are not [there] for building schools ... we shouldn't think the EU is for soft power and Nato for tough power.

Alternatively, Members should listen to the words of the Minister under questioning at the committee, where he stated:

Essentially, what it means is that we do not want to be restricted to humanitarian assistance only. There are missions that may necessitate disarmament.

EU battle groups are a key drive in the way of militarisation-----

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