Vol. 528 No. 1
100 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason the Government voted for the adoption of new secrecy policies surrounding the EU's security and defence policies instead of joining with the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland in opposing these laws; and if the initiative for these secrecy measures was promoted by NATO concerns. [29517/00]
I refer the Deputy to my answers to Question No. 68 of 18 October and to Question No. 80 of 28 November.
The interim decisions to which the question refers were adopted on the initiative of the French Presidency, acting on the advice of Secretary General-High Representative Solana. They stem from the need to ensure the protection of certain sensitive information in the context of the development of European security and defence policy. The decisions were taken by the European Union in its capacity as an independent and autonomous organisation.
Ireland attaches particular importance to maintaining the principle of decision-making autonomy in any co-operation arrangements between the EU and NATO.
