Members of the Irish Defence Forces are taking part in EU war games this week as the union seeks to boost its military capability at a time of uncertainty about Nato’s future.
An Irish mechanised infantry company, numbering just under 200 troops, will participate in the large military exercise near Bergen, Germany over the course of the week. It is only the second live military exercise to take place under EU command and the first to involve a substantial number of Irish personnel.
A small Army Ranger Wing contingent, numbering about 10 men, took part in last year’s exercise in Spain. The contribution this year will involve dozens of troops armed with light and heavy weaponry and supported by armoured personnel carriers.
The German-led military exercise, known as Milex-24, is designed to simulate the deployment of the EU’s Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC), also known as the EU Battlegroups, to stabilise a dangerous region outside the union’s borders. Fifteen EU countries and more than 1,700 troops are taking part.
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The role of Irish troops will be to act as the protection force for the military headquarters in Bergen. This will involve mounting counter-reconnaissance patrols and manning defensive positions. The Irish participants are drawn from the Defence Force’s commitment to the EU Battlegroup, which is due to go on standby next year to react to crises up to 6,000km from Brussels.
The 2,000 strong battlegroup, which can be scaled up to 5,000 troops, is designed to act as an initial entry force to stabilise a situation, to support an existing peacekeeping operation in difficulty and to respond to humanitarian crises.
Ireland has contributed troops to previous EU Battlegroup iterations, but political obstacles meant they were never deployed on active duty. The latest battlegroup system is designed to be more easily deployable and Irish military management believes there is a good chance the troops will see active duty in 2025.
One possible scenario is evacuating EU citizens from troubled spots, similar to the mass evacuation of Kabul following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021.
Ireland’s RDC contingent will remain in the State during the 12-month standby period but ready to move on short notice should the RDC be activated by the EU.
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This week’s military exercises are designed in part to test how well EU militaries can work together without the support structures of Nato. It is part of efforts, led by France and Germany, by the union to achieve “strategic autonomy”, which would allow it to act as a military power without the support of the United States. Milex-24 is only the second such EU exercise to take place outside of Nato structures.
There has been a renewed push to increase the EU’s military capability since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and even more so since the re-election last month of Donald Trump as US president. Mr Trump has signalled that the US may not be willing to come to the aid of Nato allies in Europe if they are attacked.
It is not clear how far Ireland is willing to go in this push for EU strategic autonomy. The outgoing Coalition Government has increased military co-operation with other member states, including through the Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco) framework.
However, the Constitution prevents the participation of Ireland in any EU common defence arrangement and none of the main parties have signalled a desire to change this.
