Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position in regard to EU emergency battlegroups or response forces; the extent of agreement and formation to date, current operations and future proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34375/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Battlegroup concept is designed to provide the European Union with the capacity to respond rapidly to emerging crisis situations, within the overall context of the European Union's security and defence policy.

Battlegroups are designed to participate in time-limited missions of 30 days, extendable to a maximum of 120 days, by which time the operation would have concluded, or the Battlegroup been replaced by a larger force. Developments in relation to Battlegroups are reviewed regularly within the European Union.

The purpose of the EU Battlegroups is to undertake operations (commonly referred to as the Petersberg Tasks which are set out in the Amsterdam Treaty) such as rescue tasks, tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking, in addition to peacekeeping and humanitarian tasks. Battlegroups would probably be deployed on operations at the higher end of the Petersburg spectrum. Battlegroups have been on stand-by on a rotational basis since January 2007, but to date none has been called to deploy.

Ireland provided a contingent of 100 members of the Defence Forces to the Nordic Battlegroup which was on stand-by for the first half of 2008. The contingent comprised specialists in Explosive Ordnance and Improvised Explosive Device disposal, together with a protection detail. Ireland also had a number of posts in both the Force and Operational Headquarters. Sweden, as Framework nation, together with Norway, Finland, and Estonia also participated.

With regard to Ireland's participation in future Battlegroups, we are committed in principle, subject to Government decision, to participation once again in the Nordic Battlegroup, which will be on stand-by for the first six months of 2011. The same five countries will participate, with Sweden again acting as Framework Nation.

Informal discussions have also taken place between staff in the Department of Defence and representatives from Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia and FYROM regarding Ireland's possible participation in the proposed Austrian/German Battlegroup. This Battlegroup will be on stand-by for the second six months of 2012.

It should be stressed that any deployment of the Battlegroup would require a unanimous decision of the Council of the European Union. Furthermore, deployment of an Irish contingent in a Battlegroup context would be subject to the requirements of the 'triple-lock' of Government decision, Dáil approval, and UN authorisation.