Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan has said that the EU white paper on defence must not compromise Irish neutrality.
The Dublin MEP commented ahead of the EU white paper on defence being published today.
MEP Boylan said:
“The EU Defence white paper is due to be published today. This plan proposes spending in excess of €800bn on defence.
“A number of proposals in the plan look to bring the EU closer to NATO, and increase the collective buying of Defence equipment.
“Sinn Féin MEPs submitted an amendment that any neutral EU member states must have their neutrality respected by this plan. The EU commission should respect this amendment that was passed by the European Parliament.
“It’s disappointing that the EU has been able to find such a vast amount of money to fund this rearmament, while it has neglected funding for communities and for a just transition to tackle climate change.
“Indeed, the Commission proposed that cohesion policy funding, which is used to help communities and support economies across the EU, could be raided to help support this rearmament.
“The Irish government must oppose this disastrous move, which would cut key funding for vulnerable communities in Ireland and across Europe.
“Ordinary workers and families should not be the ones forced to pick up the tab for an EU Rearmament plan.
“The government must scrutinise this white paper very carefully and take a position with the European Council that reflects the overwhelming public support for Irish neutrality, and which clearly opposes any cuts to funding that supports workers, families and communities.
“We need to rebuild our Defence Forces and their capabilities after they were run into the ground by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael government failures, but this must not happen at the expense of our neutrality.”
