Eoghan Fox

The UN is NOT "a grouping of states." It is a universal forum for global diplomacy and conflict prevention established by the UN Charter after World War 2, 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war' by working to maintain international peace through the peaceful resolution of disputes between states. It is *the* source of international legitimacy for peacekeeping operations. A UNSC mandate means a peacekeeping mission conforms to the fullest extent possible with international law and is not being pursued over the objections of a superpower. A neutral country that wishes to remain neutral and avoid getting drawn into superpower rivalries should restrict itself to UN-mandated peacekeeping missions. The EU is a regional bloc of states, attempting to assert itself as a geopolitical actor with strategic interests, increasingly by force projection. It isn't remotely the same thing as the UN. Increasingly, the EU's military missions are explicitly perceived as part of the EU's conflict with a superpower. A MINIMUM test for ensuring an EU military mission is compatible with Ireland's neutrality is by requiring that it also enjoys a UN mandate before deploying to it. If it has no UN mandate, there is an unacceptable risk it is likely to make Ireland party to a conflict between superpowers, i.e. not neutral. A neutral country has no place becoming involved in such a mission. The fact that the government has already announced its plans to involve Ireland in TWO such missions after the Triple Lock is abolished (EUNAVFOR Irini and EUSM Lebanon) is all the proof we need that FFG in government cannot under any circumstances be trusted to maintain our neutrality, and must be compelled to do so by force of law. The Triple Lock must remain in place.