Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that there are some positives in the reply of the Minister of State, but it was rather vague on PESCO spending. I want to go back to a report that was debated in the European Parliament in May on strengthening EU-NATO relations. It was adopted by the Parliament by 439 votes to 183, with four Irish MEPs voting against it and six abstaining, including the four Fine Gael MEPs. The report emphasised PESCO's complementarity with NATO and that EU member states should be capable of launching autonomous military missions where NATO was not willing to act. The EU army, also known as PESCO, is a proxy of NATO policy. When we look at those calling for a European army such as President Macron and Mrs. Merkel, they are major or senior NATO players. The increase in spending could mean that we would spend as much as NATO countries contribute, but the ethos of our armed forces is peacekeeping, humanitarian operations and the preservation of life and it contributes to our international reputation. Will the Oireachtas have an opportunity to debate the same report as that debated by the European Parliament? There is a contradiction, as there are concerns the increase in military spending will not benefit our military. When we look at the overall EU budget, €200 billion is spent annually on defence, of which we could be part.

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