Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome Deputy Crowley to the House. We were advised earlier that the proper term was "Deputy". He is very welcome back to the House in which he served with distinction some years ago.

Many of my colleagues have questions so I will keep to one or two areas. One of those is defence, the matter with which Mr. Crowley concluded his speech. He gave us his personal view and made the point that in broader terms, the more we co-operate and co-ordinate, the better. I agree, but where does that leave us in the broader defence and security context? It is doubly difficult now in the post-Iraq war situation, with Europe sidelined as a political grouping or body. Europe was to some degree divided during that war. It then became politically divided and did not have a common voice. Currently, some countries within the EU, led by France and Germany, are talking of the need for some sort of central defence and military planning. That concept is being very strongly opposed by the United States which wants to ensure that NATO is at the core of such defence and planning. What is the thinking of Mr. Crowley on that matter? If we want a strong, cohesive Europe, and some European countries want to look after their own defence and security planning, do we distance ourselves from that argument, and by doing so allow an external body, the United States, to be at the core of that development and planning? Do we want Europe to plan its own future in defence and security? Should we play a part in that or stand aside? We must ask ourselves these basic questions.