Ms Ahern, MEP:

The Green Party is thrashing out this issue in considerable detail. I think we have defended neutrality to the hilt during the referendum campaigns on various treaties. We should have a separate discussion on neutrality, as this country clearly does not know the meaning of neutrality anymore, if ever it did.

Ms Ahern, MEP:

While many members of the Green Party are pacifists, I am not and I believe in defending people from aggression. However, I am an anti-nuclear campaigner and I abhor the use of nuclear weapons. I do not want us to enter a treaty that is nuclear armed. I also abhor the proliferation of armaments, which is particularly marked in the developing world. For example, Sweden is a neutral, nuclear state and a producer of armaments. There are many contradictions in the debate and we must sit down and try to address them.