Ireland secures opt-out from EU ‘security commitments’ to Ukraine

Ireland successfully argued for a sentence explicitly protecting its neutrality to be added to a European Union pledge granting “security commitments” to Ukraine that was agreed by the 27 member states in Brussels on Thursday.

However, an Irish attempt to further soften the text to refer to “political and security commitments” was rejected by other EU states.

“The European Union and member states stand ready to contribute, together with partners, to future security commitments to Ukraine, which will help Ukraine defend itself in the long term, deter acts of aggression and resist destabilisation efforts,” the text states.

The pledge comes as Ukraine appeals to Nato to provide it with a “security guarantee” ahead of a key summit of the military alliance in Lithuania next month, intended to protect it from further military aggression in the future.

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Together with neutral Austria and Malta, Irish diplomats argued for a sentence stating that the “commitments will be taken in full respect of the security and defence policy of certain member states” to be included, a carve out for neutrality.

Guarantee

French president Emmanuel Macron led efforts for the EU to offer the security guarantee as a form of protection for Ukraine while its ambitions to join Nato are on ice because it is currently at war.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Micheál Martin said he expected Ukraine to join the EU in the future, and that this would bring it under the union’s defence umbrella.

[ Ireland’s neutrality: What’s so ‘traditional’ about it? ]

“I see Ukraine becoming a member of the European Union. That carries with it certain implicit security guarantees, although it’s never been quite explicitly stated,” he said.

Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union states that all member states have “an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power” if one member state is “the victim of armed aggression on its territory”.

It adds that this shall “not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain member states”, an allowance for neutral countries including Ireland.

However, this mutual assistance or mutual defence clause has never been tested, and it has come into sharper focus after the Wagner mercenary group settled in Belarus not far from the border of Poland, Latvia and Lithuania after abandoning a march towards Moscow.

Potential threat

Mr Martin said that he was warned by counterparts from eastern European countries this week that the presence of Wagner nearby “poses a potential threat to them”.

As it stands, however, the Irish Constitution prohibits a mutual defence agreement, Mr Martin continued.

[ Irish Times poll: Voters want to keep neutrality but improve Ireland’s military capacity ]

“We have a constitutional prohibition in terms of entering into mutual defence as we speak, that is the reality of our Constitution.”

The meeting of the 27 EU national leaders on Thursday began with a discussion with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, part of laying the groundwork for the July meeting of the alliance.

Mr Stoltenberg noted that the EU and Nato had agreed a strategic partnership, and that their participation should be strengthened in areas including the protection of critical infrastructure.

“This partnership is extremely important now when we face a full-fledged war in Europe,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

‘Comfortable’

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told journalists on arrival to the summit that he was “comfortable” that the text to be agreed on Thursday had been adequately adapted to allow for Ireland’s position.

“Ireland is a neutral country, we’re not a member of Nato, we haven’t signed up to any mutual defence clauses and we don’t intend to do so,” Mr Varadkar said.

“But we have made security commitments to Ukraine already. Like all the other EU countries here, we’re contributing to the European Peace Facility, helping Ukraine to defend itself and also we’re supporting them financially and politically so we’re happy to make those ongoing security and political commitments,” he continued.

“But what we can’t do as a country is engage in a commitment around mutual defence because that would breach our policy of neutrality.”

Nevertheless, Mr Varadkar told the other leaders in the room that the text would have been better if it referred to “political and security commitments”, according to sources close to the talks, as this would describe broader kinds of support.