Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. This is an ongoing battle, involving myself and others who believe in Ireland's neutrality. Virtually every single meeting of EU Defence Ministers or EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers continues to erode our stand-alone policy on neutrality and our vision of the primacy of the UN. Each meeting contributes to the concept of fortress Europe. Whether it is at the behest of this Government or with a nod from this Government, it has continued apace. The Minister of State mentioned defence expenditure and already this year, there have been major moves to increase defence spending in each of the member states and contributing part of the EU budget towards military research. These things will contribute to poverty and instability in the world and therefore contribute to further wars, as well as some of the actions the Minister of State mentioned that have been focused on fortress Europe.

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