Le Président. – Nous passons aux explications de vote sur la mise en œuvre de la politique de sécurité et de défense commune.
Kathleen Funchion (The Left). – A Uachtaráin, ní raibh mé in ann tacú leis an tuarascáil seo. Chuir an tuarascáil béim mhór ar chúrsaí míleata don Aontas Eorpach agus níl mise i bhfabhar sin. Mar Fheisire Éireannach, táimid bródúil as ár bpolasaí stairiúil maidir le neodracht. Níl sé ceart go mbeadh an tAontas Eorpach ag cur brú orainn in Éirinn dul i dtreo Arm Eorpach. Tá muid chun é seo a throid. Sin an fáth nach raibh muid in ann tacú leis seo. Go raibh maith agat.
Lynn Boylan (The Left). – A Uachtaráin, I voted against this report because it shows just how committed European leaders are to militarisation and the arms race.
The EU is founded as a peace project. Indeed, in the Schuman Declaration, it was said that the pooling of coal and steel production will change the destinies of those regions which have long been devoted to the manufacture of munitions of war, of which they have been the most constant victims. Now we have European countries withdrawing from the Cluster Munitions Convention and the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention. In their desperation to give more and more public money to the arms industry, European leaders will next propose cutting public services.
A better Europe is possible, one envisaged from 75 years ago, one that is committed to peace and one that defends the international institutions that were born out of the war – those institutions like the ICJ, the ICC and the UN.