THE TREATY OF NICE, NATO AND A EUROPEAN ARMY:
IMPLICATIONS FOR IRELAND

Andy Storey (Afri), April 2001

Introduction

Rapid change is occurring in the defence and security policies of the European Union (EU) - to the extent that one group of commentators refers to "Europe's Military Revolution", and states that "there is little doubt that the EU has started off on the path to becoming a military power to be reckoned with". This has major implications for Ireland, yet there has been very limited public debate in Ireland around these matters. The stimulation of such a debate is one of the main objectives of Afri and is one of the reasons why a referendum on the Treaty of Nice is to be greatly welcomed - it provides a useful forum within which such a debate can take place.

Minister for Defence Michael Smith has sought to narrow the terms of that debate by labelling those opposed to Ireland's participation in European military co-operation as "blinkered… isolationists", opposed to Irish contributions to humanitarian tasks abroad and opposed also to a true spirit of internationalism. Afri - whose executive committee members have worked in Cambodia, Rwanda and the Sudan, and who campaign in solidarity with people in Burma, East Timor and West Papua - finds the allegation of isolationism surprising. The Minister's own vision of internationalism is as follows: "the Defence Forces must have the training and equipment to integrate as seamlessly as possible into multinational support operations dominated by contingents with highly capable and technologically advanced forces". This does not imply internationalist co-operation with those other forces, but rather, at best, simply operating with or alongside them. In effect, the Irish role will be subordinate within the proposed new arrangements. Whether the cause of international peace and security can be advanced by this subordination is, as this paper will demonstrate, very questionable. In the past Irish soldiers have contributed significantly to international peacekeeping while remaining outside of such arrangements.

The paper is structured as follows.

The first section outlines the most important recent developments at Irish and EU level regarding defence/security policy, including the implications of the Treaty of Nice. It goes on to delineate the close link between the emerging EU security structures and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

The following section describes particular problems inherent in that link in terms of the regressive role of NATO, a role that seems prejudicial to the promotion of peace and security. This is not to endorse aggressively militaristic tendencies within the EU itself (which would exist even if NATO did not), but rather to highlight the very urgent challenges posed by closer association with NATO; indeed, the willingness to pursue closer co-operation with NATO is itself symptomatic of the aggressive militarism of certain elements within the EU élite.

The paper then considers whether Irish participation in these new structures might help improve (or at least restrain) NATO and/or EU military policies and practices.

The final section draws some conclusions, with particular reference to the upcoming referendum on the Treaty of Nice.

New Military Structures
The Link with NATO
Could Ireland Help Change NATO and the ERRF?
Conclusion