Ireland would be the only neutral state in Europe to permit use of its air space to US forces engaged in an Iraq conflict. Austria, Finland and Sweden will not help the war effort, as Denis Staunton in Brussels reports
If the Government expresses support for an attack on Iraq this week and allows US forces to use Irish airports and fly through Irish air space, Ireland will be the only neutral state in the EU to do so.
Austria, Finland and Sweden have made it clear that they regard military action against Iraq without a fresh UN resolution as illegal and that they will not help Washington's war effort in any way.
Austria's Chancellor, Dr Wolfgang Schüssel, said yesterday that a US-led attack on Iraq could not be regarded as an act of self-defence and would be in breach of the UN Charter.
In the event of war, Austria would forbid the transport of military equipment through its territory and deny the US and its allies over-fly rights through its air space.
Austria's National Security Council agreed on January 29th that any form of assistance to a military campaign without an explicit UN mandate would breach the country's neutrality.
Austria is bound to neutrality by the 1955 State Treaty and its constitution, which prohibits membership of military alliances and the establishment of foreign military bases on its territory.
Austria was occupied by four allied powers between 1945 and 1955, and the Soviet Union demanded a guarantee of neutrality before it agreed to independence.
Some conservative politicians, including Dr Schüssel, have toyed with changing the policy, but most commentators agree that the crisis over Iraq has driven any move towards NATO membership off the political agenda.
Sweden's policy of neutrality, which became formal in 1834, has kept the country at peace for almost 200 years. Mr Goeran Persson's centre-left government last year modified policy and expressed support for Washington's "war on terror".
But he has been critical of US unilateralism on such issues as the anti-ballistic missile treaty, and Sweden remains one of Europe's most enthusiastic believers in the primacy of the UN.
Mr Persson said yesterday that war against Iraq was unacceptable at a time when weapons inspectors, led by the former Swedish diplomat, Dr Hans Blix, were reporting progress.
"Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has demonstrated the inspections are showing progress. In that context, to launch military action, when we only need a few more weeks or a few more months, is unjustifiable," he said.
The action threatened by President George Bush would damage the UN and breach international law.
"There is no divergence in our assessment of the Iraqi regime, but the disarmament of the regime must happen within the framework of international law. The US is violating this law, and that is serious," he said.
Finland's neutrality is a result of a non-aggression pact it signed with the Soviet Union in 1948 which forbade it from allowing its territory to be used for a military attack on its eastern neighbour.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Finland's entry into the European Union, it has developed its policy to allow for participation in EU military structures but not in NATO.
Its Foreign Minister, Mr Erkki Tuomioja, said yesterday that regime change was not a legitimate reason for taking military action against Iraq. He said that reports from UN weapons inspectors offered no grounds for attacking Iraq.
"Beginning military action without a UN mandate is not acceptable. The UN charter does not allow military action of this kind," he said.
The US and its allies have not requested the use of ports or over-fly rights through Swedish or Finnish air space. But Slovenia, which holds referendums on Sunday on EU and NATO membership, has asked the US to avoid using its air space in the event of a conflict.