Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

Europe is becoming obsessed with spending on greater security and militarisation. We are so wrapped up in creating a fortress Europe that we are neglecting the fundamental concerns of conflict prevention and resolution. Surely it would be better to prevent a conflict in the first place than build walls and manufacture weapons of war. I spoke at the OSCE annual parliamentary assembly last week where I made the point that fewer and fewer countries are participating in conflict resolution and peacekeeping in an increasingly fractious and dangerous world. The international community seems increasingly unwilling or unable to uphold the core Helsinki principles of respect for human rights and peaceful resolution of disputes. States that once championed the Helsinki principles now often ignore them in pursuit of their own selfish interests. They turn their backs on conflicts because their supposed friends are involved. Trade partners are an exception to outrage when it comes to crimes against humanity. As long as there are acceptable exceptions to the rule of international law, as long as those selfish interests come first, the spirit of multilateral co-operation will continue to diminish. Once that co-operation is gone, we are left isolated and scared.

I do not believe security action for Europe is the answer. It is little more than a bankrolling of the European arms manufacturing industry. Hard-learned lessons from the financial crisis are being thrown aside so that massive deficits will be allowed as long as the money goes into arms.

We should, of course, do what we can to help Ukraine repel the Russian invaders and then work towards rebuilding the country so life can resume and it can apply for EU membership. What we should also do is not use Russia as a bogeyman while we become a paranoid, inward-looking bloc. There are more economic levers we can use against Russia and sanctions that will hurt it more than any loss on the battlefield. While we have reduced the volume of Russian gas in the European energy mix, it still represents a substantial proportion of gas imports at 20%. We still buy its gas and uranium, and its shadow fleet of oil tankers still evades sanctions. Greater investment in renewable energy is needed if we want to cut this dependency on Russia and really hurt it as an energy exporter. In Ireland and across Europe, renewable energy should be considered as the first line of defence. Clean energy is secure energy.

It is far too late for the European Council to think that its condemnation of settler violence in the West Bank will make the slightest difference. The Israeli Government has decided there will be no peace and no let-up from the destruction that rains down on children's heads. The same Israeli Government has heard all this before and has seen that nothing ever comes of it. The only thing that will make the Israelis sit up and pay attention is economic sanctions. As long as the violence in Gaza and the West Bank continues, the empty words of the European Council, while welcome, carry little weight with the Israeli war cabinet. There must be a revocation of the EU-Israel association agreement, not endless talk of reviews. The evidence is plain to see. It is the bodies of over 50,000 dead children and 134,000 injured in Palestine.

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