Vol. 535 No. 5
72 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's view of the announcement made by the Belgian Government that upon taking over the EU Presidency on 1 July 2001, it will seek to progress greater integration between the European Union and the Western European Union alliance; and his view of the impact of any such proposed merger on Irish neutrality. [9112/01]
I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 73 of 28 March.
As I outlined in that reply, I am not aware of any current proposal to integrate the Western European Union into the EU. The modalities to facilitate the transfer of certain crisis management functions of the Western European Union into the EU, as agreed in principle by the Council of Ministers during the French EU Presidency, remain under discussion. I look forward to examining the Belgian Presidency's work programme in more detail when it becomes available.
I reiterate that the overall objective of the European security and defence policy, including the transfer of the Petersberg functions of the Western European Union, is to enhance the conflict prevention and crisis management capabilities of the EU. This objective is fully consistent with Ireland's policy of military neutrality, to which the Government remains firmly committed.
