Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This motion seems quite benign on the face of it. The two projects outlined by the Minister of State seem simple and safe. It seems that we should not be too worried about this matter. Like other Members of the House, I am concerned about our continued involvement in the EDA. We seem to be on a drip-drip road towards the complete integration at a military level of the EU and the further expansion of the military capabilities of the EU. Deputies are often derided for saying this is not going to happen because of the triple lock system in this State. I suggest we will wake up very quickly when we are actually involved in this. Everybody is going to wonder how we arrived at this place. It is actually happening. The European Commission recently outlined its work programme for the coming year. It intends to make Europe a "stronger global actor" because "a Europe that protects also defends our interests beyond our borders".

That does not seem to have very good implications. They then go on to say that soft power is not enough in an increasingly conflictual world. The opposite to soft power is hard power. We saw how that played out in recent years in regard to the destruction of Libya by the British and the French military primarily, assisted by the Americans. Is that the kind of thing we want, as a state, to become more deeply involved in?

Yesterday we had the joint Council meeting between EU Foreign Affairs Ministers and Defence Ministers, where they agreed to set up this mini-military HQ, as they call it. The EU foreign service says it will have a permanent operational planning and conduct capability and will command non-executive military missions, such as training the Libyan or Iraqi military, but not combat. This is despite the fact we would have to ask who are the Libyan military at this stage, given the different militias that exist within Libya, yet we are quite happy to go along and participate in that. After yesterday's meeting, Italy's Foreign Minister said the mini-HQ was "not yet a European general staff" but "that was the premise". That is the road the EU is on. We are going to see very quickly in the next year a ramping up of military involvement and military activity. Federica Mogherini, speaking after the Council yesterday, said:

It also includes the way forward: strengthening rapid response and reinforcing the usability of the Battle Groups. Next year it will be ten years we have them; they were never used - maybe it is time to make use of the instruments we have.

To my mind, that is very dangerous talk. It implies the EU is itching to send out these battlegroups and to make use of them in the exercise of what can only be described as hard power. We have seen how the EU has behaved in recent years, not only in the destruction of Libya but also in regard to how it encouraged and facilitated a coup in Ukraine, which sparked a conflict with Russia in that country, and how it has effectively supported a fascist-type Government in Ukraine. We also see how many European member states have bombed Syria and participated quite happily in that, although it is illegal under international law. In particular, we saw how the French rolled out bombing there after the disgraceful attacks on their territory, a response that saw the bombing of innocent civilians.

This is something I do not believe we should be happy to participate in. While the projects encompassed by today's motion seem quite simple, it is a sign of deepening development within the EU and the European Defence Agency. I believe it is something we should be very worried about and we should oppose it tooth and nail.

See this speech in context