Voting Yes to Nice in the second referendum will copperfasten Ireland's neutrality in the Constitution, argues the Minister for Defence, Mr Michael Smith.
It is easy to forget that 60 years ago Europe was in the midst of a terrible war in which millions died. The history of Europe has been a litany of wars and rivalries.
Things are different today. The story of modern Europe is one of peace and co-operation. This is largely due to the creation, development and expansion of the European Union.
This remarkable exercise in conflict prevention has brought harmony between nations whose relations were previously marked by hostility and mistrust. It has enabled our generation to enjoy the fruits of the longest period of peace western Europe has known. This era of peace and prosperity stands to be further consolidated through the historic enlargement of the union for which the Nice Treaty paves the way.
The EU is a partnership in which each member respects the traditions and priorities of the other. For Ireland, this means that our traditional policy of military neutrality is respected by our EU partners. This was made clear at the Seville European Council in June when the Taoiseach secured the agreement of our EU partners to two declarations which made several things clear.
Ireland will not participate in a common EU defence commitment unless the Irish people decide otherwise in a referendum. The EU is not engaged in the creation of a European army. Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality is in full conformity with the EU treaties and there is nothing in the Nice Treaty that changes this.
The Government recognises that neutrality is an important issue for the Irish people. It is for Fianna Fáil too. That is why the previous government made sure that all necessary safeguards to protect our neutrality were included in the Nice Treaty. We are going further. In the second Nice referendum the people, in voting Yes to Nice, will copperfasten Ireland's neutrality in the Constitution by preventing Ireland joining any EU common defence commitment without their further approval through a referendum.
The proposal to insert this provision in the Constitution is a significant change from the last Nice referendum. It gives constitutional effect to the commitments made by successive governments and outlined in the Seville Declarations.
It is ironic that some of those who oppose Nice do so because they claim the EU harbours plans to become a military power. They discount its success in creating partnerships between former foes and talk instead of militarisation and secret plans for a European army that will embroil us all in colonial adventures. They claim our neutrality is threatened and urge we vote No to protect it. They are wrong. Membership of the European Union poses no threat to our traditional policy of military neutrality.
The EU is about a set of shared values of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. These are values that we have helped shape. They are enshrined in the EU treaties and form the basis for its foreign and security policy. The challenge facing all of us is how to respond to a changing world in which these core values are so often under threat.
On the basis of the Amsterdam Treaty, which the Irish people approved by referendum in 1998, the EU has worked to develop a capacity in crisis management. The European Security and Defence Policy is one aspect of this effort, enabling the EU to undertake humanitarian and peace support operations - the so-called Petersberg Tasks.
This does not involve the creation of a European army, as some have tried to suggest, nor does it mean there is a standing force of EU troops waiting for action. It means that member-states have undertaken to make resources available, on a case-by-case basis, to participate in future humanitarian and crisis management missions where there is agreement by all EU member-states. This, in practical terms, is what the European Rapid Reaction Force amounts to.
The Secretary General of the UN, Mr Kofi Annan, has welcomed the steps the EU is taking to enable it to work more closely in support of UN peacekeeping.
The UN operates a similar system, where countries undertake to make resources available for peacekeeping operations. Ireland has pledged to make 850 troops available to the UN under these arrangements and we have made the same commitment to the EU.
We will make our own sovereign decision on whether to participate and, before Irish troops can take part in any future EU peace support mission there must be UN authorisation, a Government decision and the approval of Dáil Éireann. This is entirely in keeping with our traditional peacekeeping role which we first undertook in the Congo in the 1960s and subsequently in places such as Cyprus, Lebanon and East Timor
The EU is working to elaborate integrated approaches to conflict prevention and conflict resolution, making use of all the tools at our disposal. These can, as required, include a mix of classic diplomacy, a focus on human rights, humanitarian assistance, economic assistance, sanctions, assistance in building or rebuilding institutions, the promotion of free and fair elections, police and judicial assistance, and the deployment of military personnel and police.
The Government recently approved the participation of the Garda Síochána in the EU police mission in Bosnia that will take over from the current UN mission next January. These officers will work alongside police from other EU countries to assist in training a multi-ethnic police service acceptable to all the people of that country. This will be the first mission under the European Security and Defence Policy, and I am proud that we will play our part.
Why is the EU doing this? We have only to recall the tragic events in the Balkans over the past decade to find the answer. Is it not chilling to recall atrocities such as Srebrenica and wonder how many lives might have been saved if we had been able to intervene more effectively in time to help prevent that conflict?
This is what the EU aims to achieve through its crisis management capabilities. This is a far cry from the offensive activities or colonial adventures that some on the No side would have us believe we will become involved in.
The steps the EU is taking are entirely consistent with the wishes and approach of the UN on peacekeeping and crisis management.
It is also consistent with our own policy of military neutrality. Ireland has a long and honorable tradition of service abroad in support of peace. It is part of what makes us who we are on the world stage, and I hope we will continue make a contribution both within the UN and the EU.
Let there be no doubt this time - Yes to Nice is yes to neutrality.