Ireland should not 'fear' EU defence debate

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said that Ireland should not"be fearful of" a debate about deepening collective defence at Europe an level.

This has been driven partly by the bloc's failure to meet its targets in supplying Ukraine with desperately needed artillery munitions, while replenishing Europe's own stocks, long depleted since the end of the Cold War. The proposal envisages a European Defence Industrial Programme to better manage procurement which would be funded by €1.5 billion from the EU budget.

Mr Harris, who yesterday cautioned against the creation of euro bonds to support defence spending, said a number of large EU member states had also raised concerns about the use of bonds regarding"how you appropriately leverage the limited resources available to the European Union to meet a whole variety of challenges - defence being one, but also the green transition, the digital transition being others".

Taoiseach Simon Harris, attending his first summit, said he supported the move, simultaneously calling for unhindered access for humanitarian aid throughout Gaza. Italy spoke separately ahead of G7 talks in favour of sanctions against arms suppliers linked to the attack against Israel, as well as those behind attacks on ships in the Red Sea.The European Union already has multiple programmes that target Iran for human rights abuses, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and Tehran's support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

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