Former Fianna Fail TD and GOAL chairman, director general of the Institute of International and European Affairs Barry Andrews
Barry Andrews is at pains to portray Pesco as separate from full defence integration at EU level. But his point is surely contradicted by the president of the European Commission who stated that Pesco “lays the foundations for a European defence union”.
The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs backed this up by stating that “in practice it is the foundation of a future European defence”, chiming with numerous supporters of a common EU defence who have welcomed Pesco’s establishment.
It would be better if the Institute of International and European Affairs simply stated this so that we can have a full and proper debate on Ireland’s place “at the heart of Europe” and all the obligations that this will entail.
Kevin Hiney,
Brussels.
Pesco and EU defence co-operation (The Irish Times letters page)
Related: EU defence co-operation is no threat to Irish neutrality (Barry Andrews, The Irish Times)
Jesus H if *ever* there was a time for you to end a post with FIGHT it was this one…
The Andrews brothers should form a band….
Tubs would give them their T.V break I’m sure.
Kevin *Hiney speaks the truth
* if that is his real name
I laid the foundation of a house today so I’m moving in my furniture tomorrow.
No “laid the foundation for” does not equal “built”. By the same token, the EU is already a federal Republic as, in essence the Maastricht Treaty “laid the foundation for the establishment of a Federal United States of Europe”.
This entire letter is a non-sense argument based on conjecture purporting to represent fact.
isn’t the point we can opt out (and probably should) of any future expansion of European defence and we already opt out of alot of other defence integration
Yet again the establishment apologist..
it’s all just a big conspiracy, isn’t it
LinkedIn is great
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinhiney/
Assuming its the same person, he spent 18 months with the Department of Foreign Affairs a few years ago and is now a lobbyist for Red Flag in Brussels. So, is he writing in a personal capacity or is he on the clock for someone?
So what?
There’s something craven about how we lionise our beloved ‘neutrality’.
There’s nothing principled or high minded in pledging to do nothing, ever, in any circumstance, in defence of our friends.
Pro-Allied Neutral. Knowing who the baddies are, obv, but still playing it safe.
Perched on a fence while leaning. It’s still not a good look.
+1935 -1945
Eh that’d be 1939-1945.
The keyboard has been drinking
Sure it wasn’t you buddy?
No judgement round these parts for a celebratory lunchtime tipple.
“Craven”?
“Friends”? – the same pals who dumped us in the debt swamp of their own making to save themselves..
We’re a speck of a country – being a neutral/ non-aligned state does not equate to doing nothing, remaining neutral gives us far more scope in preventing wars and increasing trade than aligning ourselves with the current U.S. obsession with ganging up on Russia, or repeatedly poking Iran in the nads. Our military is so small it wouldn’t make a difference to a EU army, it only makes a difference to the balance sheets of military hardware suppliers and other well-placed individuals coining it on the back of higher military spending.
it has nothing to do with the size of our military, more about using our strategic location to resupply aircraft and base weapons and troops here.
That’s not what neutrality means, though. Neutrality means not joining unions of countries pledged to fight for and with each other. Neutrality does not stop us deciding to defend a friend. Rather, it gives us the power to choose to do so, rather than being forced into battles that we have nothing to do with.
sure.
But then who would leap to our aid if we were attacked?
We’re not neutral. We’re defence-less. And offensive-less!
Attacked by whom? The only country who has ever attacked us, is a founder of NATO.
The only like non-state attack is likely to be as a result of our ‘look the other way attitude’ while we refuel planes full of weapons going to the Middle East, and our security is farcical.
One of the main routes for troops and weapons from the US to the Middle East involves Shannon and a bunch of actual military airbases with actual security.
Shannon’s security is so lax that it has been shown to be defenceless against a pensioner in bright orange jumpsuits taking her Zimmerframe with them as she strolled down the runway.
It’s a luxury of our geographical location dressed up as a solemn principle. Others will defend us.
Who are these ‘others’ ahjaysis? The same ones who bombed Dublin and Monaghan as a political signal?
You think they’d be upset if we had a major attack and ended up spending more money at the London Arms Fair?
As for geographical location dressed up as principle… well, we could say them same thing about the large Western economies, and pretending there’s something moral about being quiet while they bombed Fallujah (including bombing a hospital), and even paying their air traffic control fees that the US didn’t want to pay.
There’s nothing wrong with deciding not to help the world’s most powerful nations blow the crap out of the most defenceless ones.
The yanks killed 290 innocent people when the anus ring captain of the USS Vincennes blew an airliner out of the sky, while playing ‘my gun is bigger than yours’ inside Iranian waters just to show off his new ship and test the Iranian Navy.. You want to get dragged into a conflict like that? Support the yanks even when they’re the aggressors?
If you want to do that, go sign yourself up, leave the rest of us out of it.
I don’t think we should be rushing to stand next to anyone who is starting fights. We should be able to stand up for the ones being attacked.
Spot on. We’re not “neutral”. We’re defenceless.
And apparently that’s worth fighting for!
Your friends are not my friends.Fight for them yourself , or are you another of those armchair warriors?
How did Barry get his latest gig? Was it advertised?
Barry was teacher before he was a TD I believe. I’m not sure what other experience he has.
He’s an Andrews/O’Callaghan/Tubridy.
Qualified for pontificating.
He should get the cousin Chris a job. He’s good at tweeting and climbing up flagpoles
The EU Army wants Ireland..
We sent plenty to support the fascists in the Spanish Civil war. They were more of a hindrance than anything else apparently.
The EU Arm
y wants Ireland..The EU Arms industry wants Ireland’s defence budget.
Why did he leave goal? Were there money problems there? Not implying anything. Just asking like.
The yanks found him out,so he now needs to ingratiate himself with the euro project. A leech moving on to pastures new.