Brussels, 22/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, Javier Solana sought to convince the Irish that the Lisbon Treaty, which their country has still not ratified (it being likely that a second referendum will be held in October), would not force Ireland to give up its neutrality or control of its foreign policy. It would seem that the fear of losing neutrality to take on a European defence policy incited a number of Irish to vote against the draft treaty during the June 2008 referendum. One of the “legal guarantees” that Dublin has negotiated with its partners with a view to organising a new referendum concerns neutrality. “One important fact the Lisbon Treaty would not change is that the 27 governments are, and will remain, in charge of EU foreign policy”, Mr Solana said on 22 April when speaking at University College Dublin where he has been awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. Even under the new treaty, common foreign policy would still remain based on the principle of consensus, which guarantees that “the opinions of all 27 are taken into account before any decision is made”, the EU high representative for the CFSP said.
In the field of defence policy, the neutral Ireland would have nothing to fear from the Lisbon Treaty, Mr Solana went on to say. “The Union does not have an army nor are there any plans for it to have one. The EU cannot conscript the citizens of any member state. Nor can the EU tell member states how much money they should spend on defence. Each government retains full control over its armed forces. It must decide for itself if it wishes to contribute to any given peace support operation, in accordance with its own national laws and procedures”, Mr Solana explained, welcoming the important role that Ireland has played and is playing in several ESDP military and civilian missions.
Javier Solana did not simply seek to dispel fears but also to actively defend the Lisbon Treaty. If the EU wants to be a “promoter of peace” in the world, he said, it needs the new treaty that would allow it to develop a “more effective” foreign policy. “I am convinced that a more effective EU foreign policy would benefit Ireland, Europe and the whole world”, he said. (H.B./transl.jl)