Ireland’s neutrality ‘does not provide immunity’ from threats to Europe – Kallas

Ireland’s military neutrality “does not provide immunity” from threats facing Europe, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.

The vice-president of the European Commission visited Dublin on Tuesday to discuss Ireland’s presidency of the EU Council, a six-month term which begins next month.

On Wednesday, the Government will publish its presidency programme, setting out its priorities for the EU’s work.

Ireland’s proud tradition of military neutrality is not in question, but neutrality does not provide immunity from the threats Europe faces today. No country in Europe is off Russia’s target list

Kallas said the priorities of defending values, strengthening security and boosting competitiveness reflect “exactly what Europe needs”.

“Europe must remain principled, a global actor, but principles alone are not enough,” she said at a press conference at Iveagh House in Dublin alongside Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee.

“Europe must also have the hard power to defend them, and that means investing in our security, strengthening our defence capabilities, and building the capacity to protect our citizens and our interests.

“Ireland’s proud tradition of military neutrality is not in question, but neutrality does not provide immunity from the threats Europe faces today.

“No country in Europe is off Russia’s target list.”

McEntee said that security and defence was “no longer a future challenge” and was “an immediate responsibility”.

“Maritime security will be a particular area of focus throughout our presidency, including efforts to enhance our maritime domain awareness, protect critical infrastructure, and strengthen resilience in our shared maritime environment,” Ms McEntee said.

Kallas said Russia’s shadow fleet was “a serious threat” and there had been a surge in hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.

She said now was “not the time for complacency” and that Ireland’s 55% increase in defence spending by 2030 sent “a clear signal that Ireland is stepping up”.

Discussing the conflict in the Middle East, Kallas said a return to “full-scale war” would come at a “tremendous cost” and said the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz was “unacceptable”.

She said that while there was “certainly a change of attitude” in relation to EU action against Israel, “the question is whether it’s enough”.

“(For) sanctions, for example, we need all the countries to agree. We don’t have that.

“When it comes to the trade issues, we need qualified majority, and as you know, it’s a very complicated way of calculating it, but we don’t have that either at the moment.”

She said the two leaders also discussed Limerick-based Aughinish Alumina, following reports that sanctioned Russian defence companies may be benefitting from alumina from the plant.

The Government is carrying out an investigation into the reports and is to inform the European Commission of its findings.

Kallas met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Government Buildings earlier on Tuesday.

She signed the visitors’ book at Government Buildings before posing for photos and being shown paintings of former Irish president, ex taoiseach and founder of Fianna Fáil Eamon de Valera and Irish revolutionary Michael Collins.

Martin has been visiting heads of state in recent weeks as Ireland prepares to take on the EU presidency.

The EU Council, representing the EU’s heads of government and ministers, is in charge of legislation and involves gatherings of EU ministers with similar briefs.

For six months, Ireland will take responsibility for planning and chairing EU Council meetings and negotiations, and representing the council in discussions with the European Parliament and European Commission.

About 30,000 delegates will visit Ireland over the six-month period, with meetings taking place over four-and-a-half months when the breaks over August and the Christmas period are excluded.