David Norris (Independent)

I will leave the final word to Henry Kissinger, who said: "No foreign policy — no matter how ingenious — has any chance of success if it is born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of none." Our position is not quite so extreme. However, my distinguished colleagues, Patrick Keatinge, Peadar Ó Bhroin and Ben Tonra, are anxious about the prospect of achieving Danish status. They claim that as an opt-out country, we will be left on the sidelines and that while we will be able to participate in discussions, we will not be able to vote. Their comments echo a French general who came here to tell us what to do. The Irish Times of Saturday, 29 November reported General Bentégeat as saying exactly the same thing. That tells us where they are coming from. I will campaign as vigorously as I can against this treaty unless we get an opt-out from participation in the military objectives of the European armaments group, rechristened the European Defence Agency.