123-808: The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty (or the Treaty on European Union ) and the Treaty of Rome (or the Treaty establishing the European Community which, before the Maastricht Treaty, was the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community). The Treaty of Nice reformed the institutional structure of
246-621: A U-boat off the Irish coast as part of Operation Dove ; the Germans also later came to realise they had overestimated the capabilities of the IRA. The American ambassador, David Gray, stated that he once asked de Valera, early in the war, what he would do if German paratroopers "liberated" Derry . According to Gray, de Valera was silent for a time and then replied "I don't know." Many German spies were sent to Ireland, but all were captured quickly as
369-715: A neutral country in 1922, and Ireland remained neutral during the Second World War ; although it allowed Allied military aircraft to fly through part of its airspace , and shared some intelligence with the Allies (see Irish neutrality during World War II ). During the Cold War , it did not join NATO nor the Non-Aligned Movement . Since the 1970s, some have defined Irish neutrality more broadly to include
492-568: A referendum in France narrowly supported the ratification of the treaty, with 50.8% in favour. This narrow vote for ratification in France, known at the time as the ' petit oui ', led Jacques Delors to comment that "Europe began as an elitist project in which it was believed that all that was required was to convince the decision-makers. That phase of benign despotism is over." In the United Kingdom parliament ratification did not command
615-685: A Member State that was created by the Amsterdam Treaty. The Treaty also contained provisions to deal with the financial consequences of the expiry of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) treaty ( Treaty of Paris (1951) ). Under the current rules for the amendment of the Treaties, the Treaties can only be amended by a new Treaty, which must be ratified by each of the Member States to enter into force. In all
738-595: A Mr. Cram and the Irish embassy in London, and was not revealed until December 2007. In 1962–63, during the Cuban Missile Crisis , Seán Lemass authorised searches of aircraft that stopped over at Shannon while flying between Warsaw Pact countries and Cuba , for "warlike material". In 1952 the government agreed a secret memorandum of understanding with the UK government regarding air defence , under which
861-467: A bill to hold a referendum on Irish membership in a hypothetical European army was opposed by the government, who called it "unnecessary". Micheál Martin said that if the referendum had taken place he was confident it would have passed and that Ireland needs to 'reflect' on the issue of neutrality. A Consultative Forum on International Security Policy was held in Dublin, Cork and Galway during 2023. It
984-460: A clear majority. In protest against the social-policy opt out, Labour opposed, while "anti-federalists" split the governing Conservatives . Prime Minister John Major was able to face down his " Maastricht Rebels " only by tying ratification to the survival of the government in a vote of confidence. (Researchers and observers suggest that, in the United Kingdom, the Maastricht Treaty represented "a critical turning point" in terms of divisions within
1107-419: A commitment to " United Nations peacekeeping , human rights and disarmament ". Recent Irish governments have defined it narrowly as non-membership of military defensive alliances. Although the republic is not part of any military alliance, it relies on a NATO member, the United Kingdom, to protect Irish airspace. It also allows stopovers by some foreign military aircraft, provided they are not armed. Ireland
1230-729: A common defence". Title II, Provisions Amending the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community, reformulates the EEC as the central "pillar" of the Union. It amends the EEC's Treaty of Rome constitution, renaming it the European Community to reflect the Union's broader ambition. Amendments incorporate (as detailed in attached protocols) a staged progression toward monetary union including
1353-606: A huge boost to Euro-scepticism; and made currency traders like George Soros rich. The ERM was the centrepiece of the European Monetary System (EMS), set up on voluntary basis in 1978 to reduce the "barrier" that exchange-rate volatility presented for intra-Community commerce (and for the management of payments under the Common Agricultural Policy ). Britain had signed up to the ERM in 1990 as
SECTION 10
#17327660330211476-497: A majority of both member states and population for a proposal to be approved. This was also rejected by France for similar reasons. A compromise was reached, which provided for a double majority of Member States and votes cast, and in which a Member State could optionally request verification that the countries voting in favour represented a sufficient proportion of the EU's population. The Treaty provided for an increase after enlargement of
1599-533: A moral code and that when this necessity became sufficiently great, other people's rights were not to count....this same code is precisely why we have the disastrous succession of wars... shall it be world war number three? During the Cold War , Ireland maintained its policy of neutrality. It did not align itself officially with NATO , the Warsaw Pact , or the Non-Aligned Movement . It refused to join NATO due to
1722-514: A near-50% turn-out. By then all other EU member states had ratified the Treaty. Ratification by all parties was required by the end of the year, or else the Treaty would have expired. Proponents of the Treaty claimed it was a utilitarian adjustment to cumbersome EU governing mechanisms and a required streamlining of the decision-making process, necessary to facilitate enlargement of the EU into Central and Eastern Europe . They claim that, consequently,
1845-486: A number of anomalous issues. Provided that all Member States ratify, it rules that the Treaty should come into force on 1 January 1993. Articles within the Treaty were referred to by using the letters A to S. Annexed to the Treaty is a Protocol, and an Agreement, on Social Policy. With a view to ensuring that the dynamic of the European single market respect certain minimum social and employment protections, these allow
1968-399: A presumption that action will be taken at European level only where national efforts cannot achieve the objective in question. Sceptics note that the Treaty offers no legally actionable definition of subsidiarity. Rather there are "a series of tentative indications for Community action in a document full of imprecise concepts: 'sufficiently', 'better achieved', 'what is necessary', 'to achieve
2091-626: A request for help from Basil Brooke , Prime Minister of Northern Ireland . Fire engines were sent from the south to help their Belfast colleagues. De Valera formally protested to the German government and made a speech declaring "they are our people". Irish neutrality during the war was threatened from within by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which sought to provoke a confrontation between Britain and Ireland. This plan collapsed, however, when IRA chief of staff Seán Russell died in
2214-521: A result of good intelligence and sometimes their ineptitude. The chief Abwehr spy was Hermann Görtz . As the state was neutral, Irish cargo ships continued to sail with full navigation lights. They had large tricolours and the word "EIRE" painted large on their sides and decks. Irish ships rescued more than 500 seamen, and some airmen, from many countries during the war. However, many Irish ships were attacked by belligerents on both sides. Over 20% of Irish seamen died, on clearly marked neutral vessels, in
2337-590: A sovereignty dispute over Northern Ireland with the United Kingdom, a NATO member. Ireland offered to set up a separate alliance with the United States but this was refused. This offer was linked in part to the $ 133 million received from the Marshall Aid Plan. However, secret transmission of information from the government to the CIA started in 1955. The link was established by Liam Cosgrave via
2460-550: A strengthening of the powers of the European Parliament and more majority voting on the Council of Ministers . Although these were seen by many to presage a " federal Europe ", key areas remained inter-governmental with national governments collectively taking key decisions. This constitutional debate continued through the negotiation of subsequent treaties (see below), culminating in the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon . In
2583-551: A token of the government's commitment to control inflation (then running at three times the rate of Germany). From the beginning of 1990, high German interest rates, set by the Bundesbank to counteract inflationary impact of the expenditure on German reunification , caused significant stress across the whole of the ERM. By the time of their own ratifications debates, France and Denmark also found themselves under pressure in foreign exchange markets, their currencies trading close to
SECTION 20
#17327660330212706-459: Is Article 29, section 4, subsection 9° of the Irish constitution : This was originally inserted by the 2002 amendment ratifying the Treaty of Nice , and updated by the 2009 amendment ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon . An earlier bill intended to ratify the Treaty of Nice did not include a common defence opt-out, and was rejected in the first Nice referendum , in 2001. The Defence Act 1954,
2829-572: Is one of four European Union countries that are not members of NATO ; the others are Austria , Cyprus and Malta . The compatibility of neutrality with Ireland's EU membership has been a point of debate in EU treaty referendum campaigns since the 1990s. The Seville Declarations on the Treaty of Nice acknowledge Ireland's "traditional policy of military neutrality". The Irish Defence Forces have been involved in many UN peacekeeping missions . There are notable differences between Irish neutrality and “traditional” types of neutral states : After
2952-609: The Anglo-Irish Treaty was a Dominion of the British Commonwealth , with the UK retaining responsibility for Ireland's marine defence as well as three naval bases, the " Treaty Ports ". Article 49 of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State stated, "Save in the case of actual invasion, the Irish Free State ... shall not be committed to active participation in any war without the assent of
3075-461: The Deutsche Mark and adopt a common currency. Without consulting Karl Otto Pöhl , President of the Bundesbank , Kohl accepted the deal. Despite this win for France, it was widely perceived that the cost of German cooperation was German dictation of the rules for a single currency. The Bundesbank had signalled that Germany's economic success would come before being "a good european". In
3198-508: The EU without changing the EU 's rules, and that others could have negotiated on an individual basis, something opponents to the treaty argued would have been to the applicants' advantage. They also claimed that the Treaty of Nice would create a two-tier EU, which might marginalise Ireland. Opponents pointed out that leading pro-treaty politicians had admitted that if referendums had been held in countries other than Ireland , it would probably have been defeated there as well. The Commission and
3321-587: The European Economic Community (EEC), the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). It confirms among its objectives are "the introduction of a citizenship of the Union" common to the nationals of the Member States; "economic and monetary union, ultimately including a single currency"; and "a common foreign and security policy including the eventual framing of
3444-572: The European Parliament "co-legislator with the Council of Ministers" and have since been developed and extended to nearly all areas where the Council decides on legislation by qualified majority voting. The "foundations of co-decision in the Maastricht Treaty" have led to ways to reconcile differences between the Parliament and the Council, formally through a "conciliation procedure" and informally through "trialogues" involving negotiations between
3567-534: The European Parliament were disappointed that the Nice intergovernmental conference (IGC) did not adopt many of their proposals for reform of the institutional structure or introduction of new Community powers, such as the appointment of a European Public Prosecutor. The European Parliament threatened to pass a resolution against the Treaty; the Italian Parliament threatened it would not ratify it without
3690-658: The European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities , it announced "a new stage in the process of European integration " chiefly in provisions for a shared European citizenship , for the eventual introduction of a single currency , and (with less precision) for common foreign and security policies , and a number of changes to the European institutions and their decision taking procedures, not least
3813-681: The International Security Assistance Force mission in the 2001–2021 Afghanistan War . The personnel were provided under United Nations mandate. The Fianna Fáil-led government did not take a position on the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Ireland, then a member of the UN Security Council , voted "yes" to Resolution 1441 , which warned of "serious consequences" if Iraq did not comply with weapons inspectors. Some United States Air Force planes were allowed to refuel at Shannon Airport before and during
Treaty of Nice - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-601: The Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II . Winston Churchill, the British wartime Prime Minister, made an attack on the Irish Government and in particular Éamon de Valera in his radio broadcast on VE Day . Churchill maintained that the British government displayed restraint on the Irish state while the de Valera government were allowed to "frolic with the Germans". Churchill maintained that
4059-619: The Nine Years' War (1594–1603) allied with Habsburg Spain , who sent military aid to the Irish. Following their defeat, all of Ireland was a dependency of England and then of Great Britain . During this period, Catholic soldiers from Ireland fought in the armies of several European Catholic countries, in what is known as the Flight of the Wild Geese . In 1644–1645, during the Wars of
4182-683: The Oireachtas [parliament]". In the Third Dáil debate on the draft constitution, the Provisional Government rejected a Labour Party amendment requiring assent of the electorate via referendum. Thomas Johnson argued "The war that is to be guarded against is a war overseas, is a war that this country may be drawn into by Parliament, by the will of Parliament perhaps, at the instigation of perhaps Canada, or perhaps Australia, or perhaps South Africa, or perhaps Great Britain, and
4305-702: The Pound sterling ). The signatory nations were represented by: In consequence of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Communities during the previous six months of negotiation, the Treaty was signed in the Netherlands , in the city of Maastricht . The twelve members of the European Communities signing the Treaty on 7 February 1992 were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain,
4428-716: The Progressive Democrats , the Irish Alliance for Europe led by Professor Brigid Laffan and Adrian Langan, and Ireland for Europe led by Ciarán Toland. On the No Side, the principal campaigns were those of the Green Party , Sinn Féin , Anthony Coughlan 's National Platform , Justin Barrett 's No to Nice campaign, and Roger Cole 's Peace and Neutrality Alliance . The result was a 60% "Yes" vote on
4551-654: The Royal Air Force can apply to intercept hostile aircraft in Irish airspace, conscious of the lack of capability of the Irish Air Corps to do so. The agreement has been renewed by subsequent governments despite misgivings. In 2023, Senator Gerard Craughwell applied to the High Court for a judicial review of its constitutionality. Ireland applied to join the then European Communities in 1963 and finally acceded in 1973 . Garret FitzGerald , who
4674-705: The September 11 attacks , these conditions were "waived in respect of aircraft operating in pursuit of the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1368 ". Irish governments have always said that allowing aircraft to use Irish soil does not constitute participation in any particular conflict and is compatible with a neutral stance, adducing the transit of German troops between Finland and Norway through neutral Swedish territory during World War II . A neutral state may also allow its citizens to serve in
4797-556: The Tánaiste Leo Varadkar stated that while Ireland is not militarily aligned, the country is "not neutral at all" in relation to this conflict and that "support for Ukraine is unwavering and unconditional". Days later the Department of Foreign Affairs said it would "constructively abstain" from an EU fund for military aid to Ukraine , but contribute instead to a fund that did not include weaponry. In March 2023
4920-407: The border into British territory (although some Allied personnel were also interned ). The internees were referred to as "guests of the nation". The German embassy had to pay for their keep. If they were on a non-combative mission they were repatriated. While it was easy for Allied pilots to make that claim, it was not realistic for Luftwaffe pilots to make a similar claim. Towards the end of the war,
5043-448: The custom in international law was that "a neutral state may not permit the movement of large numbers of troops or munitions of one belligerent State through its territory en route to a theatre of war with another", it found this was not part of Irish domestic law , as Irish neutrality was "a matter of government policy only". The Dáil resolution implied that letting military aircraft refuel at Shannon did not amount to "participation" in
Treaty of Nice - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-467: The franc . Since then, Mitterrand had been committed to drawing Germany into a currency partnership. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in late 1989, Germany sought re-unification. France, the UK, and the rest of Europe expressed their concerns over re-unification. When German Chancellor Helmut Kohl asked for re-unification in 1990, Mitterrand would only accept in the event Germany would abandon
5289-560: The "advanced nationalists", mainly republicans , who wanted full independence. Separatists generally envisaged an independent Ireland being neutral, but were prepared to ally with Britain's enemies in order to secure that independence, reflected in the maxim "England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity". At the outbreak of the First World War , James Connolly was president of the Irish Neutrality League and
5412-445: The British could have invaded the Irish state, but displayed "considerable restraint" in not doing so. De Valera replied to Churchill in a radio broadcast: Mr. Churchill makes it clear that in certain circumstances he would have violated our neutrality and that he would justify his action by Britain's necessity. It seems strange to me that Mr. Churchill does not see that this, if accepted, would mean that Britain's necessity would become
5535-632: The British military and even held secret meetings to decide what to do if Germany invaded Ireland to attack Britain, which resulted in Plan W , a plan for joint Irish and British military action should the Germans invade. However General Hugo McNeill , the commander of the Irish Second Division based on the Northern Ireland border, had private discussions with the German ambassador, Edouard Hempel , about German military assistance in
5658-641: The Conservative Party over European integration and the ruling party' ultimate fragmentation in 2016 into Leave and Remain factions). In Germany, the Maastricht Treaty passed the Bundestag on December 2, 1992, with a majority of 543 out of 562, and the Bundesrat with unanimity. The Bundestag was required to amend the Grundgesetz (German Basic Law) to “legalize Germany’s membership in
5781-545: The Council of Ministers to approve relevant proposals from the European Commission on the basis of a qualified majority rather than unanimous consent. The United Kingdom was not a party of the Agreement on Social Policy and secured an "opt out" from the protocol. It was to do the same with respect to the obligation to enter the final, single-currency, stage of monetary union (the UK would not have to give up
5904-772: The Council to below 27, but without actually specifying the target of that reduction. As a transitional measure it specified that after 1 January 2005, Germany, France, the United Kingdom , Italy and Spain would each give up their second Commissioner. The Treaty provided for the creation of subsidiary courts below the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance (now the General Court) to deal with special areas of law such as patents. The Treaty of Nice provides for new rules on closer co-operation,
6027-402: The ECB, nor a national central bank, nor any member of their decision-making bodies, shall seek or take instructions from Community institutions or bodies from any Government of a Member State or from any other body." Seeming to further preclude any possibility of the single-currency banking system being used to regulate European financial markets in support of potentially inflationary policies,
6150-409: The EU member states the Treaty of Nice was ratified by parliamentary procedure, except in Ireland where, following the decision of the Irish supreme court in Crotty v. An Taoiseach , any amendments that result in a transfer of sovereignty to the European Union require a constitutional amendment. Ireland's Constitution can only be amended by a referendum. To the surprise of the Irish government and
6273-599: The EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) when it was founded in December 2017. The Fine Gael-led government said it would participate on a case-by-case basis and membership did not compromise neutrality. Fianna Fáil supported membership; Sinn Féin, the Greens, Solidarity , and People Before Profit opposed it; the Labour Party had reservations. In a Dáil discussion on the Russo-Ukrainian crisis in January 2022, Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit asked: Taoiseach Micheál Martin replied: In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022,
SECTION 50
#17327660330216396-438: The European Council, decided to have another referendum on the Treaty of Nice on Saturday, 19 October 2002. Two significant qualifications were included in the second proposed amendment, one requiring the consent of the Dáil for enhanced cooperation under the treaty, and another preventing Ireland from joining any EU common defence policy. A 'Yes' vote was urged by a massive campaign by the main parties and by civil society and
6519-400: The European Parliament, Council and Commission, which have become standard in most legislative procedures. In establishing the European Union the Maastricht Treaty amended the treaties that had established the European Communities in the 1950s. Following the EU accessions of Austria, Finland, and Sweden, it was in turn amended by the treaties of Amsterdam (1997), and Nice (2001). Following
6642-401: The European Union (Article 23) as well as to install a European Monetary Union (Article 88).” The ratification was delayed by challenges at the German Federal Constitutional Court , the complainants claiming the amendments transferring sovereign competencies to the European Union violated democratic principles (Article 20 and 38(1)) of the Grundgesetz that were unamendable (Article 79(3)); hence
6765-400: The European Union should be merged, with the European Union being endowed with legal personality . The German regions were also demanding a clearer separation of the powers of the Union from the Member States. Nor did the Treaty of Nice deal with the question of the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights into the Treaty; that was also left for the 2004 IGC after the opposition of
6888-425: The European Union to withstand eastward expansion, a task which was originally intended to have been done by the Amsterdam Treaty , but failed to be addressed at the time. The entry into force of the treaty was in doubt for a time, after its initial rejection by Irish voters in a referendum in June 2001. This referendum result was reversed in a subsequent referendum held a little over a year later. The Nice Treaty
7011-449: The Eurozone – higher debts which, ultimately, have no relationship to higher growth. The Maastricht criteria, he insisted, were correct in placing the onus for growth on "competitiveness, structural reforms, investment, and sustainable financing". Set alongside the European Community, the cooperation proposed in the Maastricht Treaty on foreign and security policy, and on justice and home affairs, were characterised in official commentary as
7134-411: The German Bundesbank ". Whereas the Bundesbank, under article 12 of its constitution, is "bound to support the general economic policy of the [German] Federal Government", the obligation of the ECB to "support the general economic policies in the Community" is to be "without prejudice" to price stability, the Bank's "primary objective". It is further conditioned by the express understanding that "neither
7257-415: The German embassy was unable to pay, so the internees had to work on local farms. Strict wartime press censorship had the effect of controlling a moral reaction to the war's unfolding events and reiterated the public position that Irish neutrality was morally superior to the stance of any of the combatants. Allied military aircraft were allowed to overfly County Donegal to bases in County Fermanagh . This
7380-401: The Maastricht Treaty opened up "debates about whether this strengthened the states, regions or local government vis-à-vis the EU or vice versa". Subsidiarity can be read as a federalising principle. For every endeavour it poses the question of whether national or Community policy is the most effective means, and elevates simple utility above any deference to national or local feeling, albeit with
7503-403: The Maastricht Treaty should be inadmissible. The court delivered its judgment on October 12, 1993 ruling the Maastricht Treaty compatible with the Grundgesetz, but provided that the European Union could not endow itself with more powers without the Bundestag’s approval. The court also confirmed its Solange II decision accepting the supremacy of European Court of Justice decisions while retaining
SECTION 60
#17327660330217626-441: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Treaty noted that it should be "ratified by the High Contracting Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional requirement". In the cases of Denmark, France and Ireland this required referendums. In the first Danish referendum , on 2 June 1992, the treaty was rejected by a margin of 50.7% to 49.3%. Concessions secured by the end of year in Edinburgh including, critically,
7749-421: The TEC as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Since the end of World War II , sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty ) in an increasing number of areas, in the European integration project or the construction of Europe ( French : la construction européenne ). The following timeline outlines
7872-513: The Three Kingdoms , the Irish Confederacy sent a military expedition to Scotland to help the Scottish Royalists. During the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , the United Irishmen sought and received military assistance from the French First Republic . Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. While Irish unionists supported political integration with Britain, Irish nationalists were divided between those who envisaged some continuing link with Britain and
7995-409: The Treaty expressly prohibits the ECB or any Member State central extending "overdraft facilities or any other type of credit facility" to "Community institutions or bodies, central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of Member States", or the purchase from them debt instruments. Critics felt that, in limiting the role of
8118-401: The UK, the Maastricht rebellion drew on the experience of Black Wednesday . On 16 September 1992 the British government had been forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after a failed and costly attempt to keep the pound above its mandated exchange rate limit. Sterling 's exit from the ERM was the defining failure of John Major's government;
8241-461: The United Kingdom. At the end of January 2020 ( GMT ), the UK left the EU and so withdrew from this Treaty. Since the end of World War II , sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty ) in an increasing number of areas, in the European integration project or the construction of Europe ( French : la construction européenne ). The following timeline outlines
8364-442: The accession of a further twelve states, ten from the former Eastern Bloc – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – plus Cyprus and Malta, and an aborted Treaty on a European Constitution , the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC) were more comprehensively revisited. The 2007 Treaty of Lisbon amends both again and renames
8487-414: The armed forces of other, possibly belligerent , nations. Ireland does not restrict its citizens from serving in foreign armies, and significant numbers of Irish citizens serve or have served in the British, and to a lesser extent United States armies and the French Foreign Legion . Ireland's neutrality is in general a matter of government policy rather than a requirement of statute law . One exception
8610-454: The bottom of their ERM bands. Having "resolved to achieve the strengthening and the convergence and to establish an economic and monetary union including,... a single and stable currency", the Treaty ruled that "Member States shall regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern", and that the obligations assumed should be a matter for "mutual surveillance." Commonly known as the Maastricht criteria, these obligations represented
8733-451: The burden of adjustment upon wage-, and benefit-, dependent households. Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis credited the Maastricht criteria with framing of a union of deflation and unemployment. Taking issue in defence of the Maastricht criteria, German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble argued that "the old way to stimulate growth will not work." There is a real "moral hazard" in allowing Member States to accumulate higher debts within
8856-721: The committee held discussions with the petitioners, government members, the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade , and academics, and issued a report, which stated: In 2015, the Fine Gael–Labour government published a foreign policy review which stated, "Our policy of military neutrality remains a core element of Irish foreign policy." It defined neutrality as "non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in common or mutual defence arrangements", while working with international organisations for peacekeeping missions. Ireland joined
8979-627: The committee. Nevertheless, there was Irish involvement in the Spanish Civil War on both sides by private individuals and groups. Another statute related to the committee was the Merchant Shipping (Spanish Civil War) Act 1937, which restricted Irish shipping's access to Spain until 27 April 1939. Ireland remained neutral during World War II. The Fianna Fáil government's position was flagged years in advance by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera and had broad support. James Dillon
9102-469: The conflict, as were civilian aircraft transporting US military personnel; others had permission to overfly Irish air space. A resolution of the Dáil on 20 March 2003 approved these arrangements. Anti-war activist Edward Horgan took a case in the High Court seeking declarations that the government, in allowing use of Shannon, had breached the state's obligations as a neutral state. While the court held that
9225-491: The conflicts of big powers; hence Ireland's policy was officially "neutral", and the country did not publicly declare its support for either side. In practice, while Luftwaffe pilots who crash-landed in Ireland and German sailors were interned, Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) pilots who crashed were released on personal assurances and usually allowed to cross
9348-400: The convergence criteria denied member states the resort to currency deflation to ease balance-of-payments constraints on domestic spending, and left labour market "flexibility" as the main mean of coping with asymmetric economic shocks. These constraints were to become the focus of political scrutiny and public protest in the new-century European debt crisis . Beginning in 2009 with Greece ,
9471-505: The decision, saying that the government was "discarding the remnants of Irish neutrality". Taoiseach Enda Kenny said in 2007: "the truth is, Ireland is not neutral. We are merely unaligned". In 2012, the Oireachtas established a joint committee to review petitions submitted by the public. An early petition sought clarification of government policy in relation to the use of Irish airspace by foreign military aircraft. In 2013–16
9594-438: The development of the Union", and asked it to help "elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications. Yet it is clear that nothing is to be construed as systematically constraining the foreign or defence policies of the individual Member States. "Failing a Council decision", which would require unanimity, a Member State is free to take such action as it considers "necessary". This, in part,
9717-546: The early 1960s Congo Crisis , and subsequently in Cyprus ( UNFICYP ) and Lebanon ( UNIFIL ). A 2004 report by Forfás noted that the policy of neutrality is a factor in Ireland's lack of an arms industry and strict export controls on weapons. The latter were previously enforced by the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order 2009, a statutory instrument made under the Control of Exports Act 1983. The 2009 order
9840-458: The environment. In these and other areas which do not fall within Community's "exclusive competence", in accordance with "the principle of subsidiarity " action is to be taken only if, "by reason of the scale or effects", the objectives cannot be more "efficiently" achieved by the Member States themselves. In several of these areas, the Treaty seeks to enhance the "democratic functioning" of
9963-414: The establishment of a common (and later single) European market. In time, the tension between the transferred worker as "a mobile unit of production" contributing to the success of the single market, and the reality of the Community migrants as individuals, seeking to exercise "a personal right" to live and work in another state for their own, and their families', welfare, asserted itself. The Treaty built on
10086-644: The event of a British invasion from the north. De Valera declined Germany's offer of captured British weapons. The Germans did have a plan for an invasion of Ireland called Operation Green , similar to the Allies' Operation Bodyguard , but it was only to be put into operation with Operation Sea Lion , the plan to conquer Britain. During the Belfast Blitz in April 1941, when the Luftwaffe bombed Belfast in Northern Ireland, De Valera responded immediately to
10209-533: The former's support. However, in the end this did not come to pass and the European Parliament approved the Treaty. Many argue that the pillar structure , which was maintained by the Treaty, is overcomplicated; that the separate Treaties should be merged into one Treaty; that the three (now two) separate legal personalities of the Communities should be merged; and that the European Community and
10332-654: The future ECB and euro in national, or Union-coordinated, reflationary policies, Maastricht affirmed what by the late 1980s was the general economic-policy orthodoxy within the Community. This has been described as a "reversed Keynesianism ": macro-economic policy not to secure a full-employment level of demand, but, through the restrictive control of monetary growth and public expenditure, to maintain price and financial market stability; micro economic policy, not to engineer income and price controls in support of fiscal expansion, but to encourage job creation by reducing barriers to lower labour costs. The commitment to monetary union and
10455-475: The governments of several Euro-zone countries (Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus ) declared themselves unable to repay or refinance their government debt or to bail out over-indebted banks without assistance from third parties. The " austerity " they had subsequently to impose as a condition of assistance from Germany and other of their trade-surplus EU partners, raised calls for new arrangements to better manage payment imbalances between member states, and ease
10578-506: The growing suggestion that there was a Community-wide basis for citizenship rights. The Treaty rules that "every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union". This common and parallel citizenship accords the Member State migrants not only the civil right to take up residence and employment, but also, and for the first time, political rights. In a new EU country of residence Member-State nationals have
10701-539: The impact of the Treaty on Irish neutrality . Other sections viewed the leadership of the Union as out of touch and arrogant, with the Treaty offering a perceived chance to 'shock' the European leadership into a greater willingness to listen to its critics. (A similar argument was made when Denmark initially voted down the Treaty of Maastricht .) The Irish government, having obtained the Seville Declaration on Ireland's policy of military neutrality from
10824-559: The institutions by conceding the directly elected European Parliament rights not only of consultation but also of co-decision on some categories of European legislation. It also grants the Parliament the power to confirm (and therefore to veto) the Council's nominations for the European Commission , the Community's executive. Titles III and IV amend the treaties establishing the ECSC and Euratom to complete their absorption into
10947-782: The last is very much the more likely". In the Statute of Westminster 1931 , the UK renounced the right to legislate for the Free State. The 1938 Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement saw the Treaty Ports handed over to the Free State. The Free State joined the International Committee for Non-Intervention in the Spanish Civil War . The Spanish Civil War (Non-Intervention) Act, 1937 made it an offence to travel from Ireland to Spain to fight for either side. This applied both to Irish citizens and nationals of other countries on
11070-470: The legal inception of the European Union (EU)—the principal framework for this unification. The EU inherited many of its present responsibilities from the European Communities (EC), which were founded in the 1950s in the spirit of the Schuman Declaration . Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union , commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty , is the foundation treaty of
11193-558: The legal inception of the European Union (EU)—the principal framework for this unification. The EU inherited many of its present responsibilities from the European Communities (EC), which were founded in the 1950s in the spirit of the Schuman Declaration . Irish neutrality Ireland has a longstanding policy of military neutrality , which has meant not joining military alliances or defence pacts , or taking part in international conflicts. The nature of Irish neutrality has varied over time. The Irish Free State declared itself
11316-526: The national central banks, but to include the prospective currency-issuing European Central Bank . As envisaged by the Treaty, the ECB replaced its shadow European Monetary Institute on 1 June 1998, and began exercising its full powers with the introduction of the euro on 1 January 1999. The Treaty dedicates the EU central banking system to price stability, and gives it "a degree of independence from elected officials" greater even "than that of its putative model,
11439-491: The national currency within "the normal fluctuation margins by the exchange-rate mechanism of the European Monetary System without severe tensions for at least the last two years"; and 4. nominal long-term interest rates no more than 2 percentage points higher than in the three Member States with the lowest inflation. These criteria in turn dictated the mandate of the European System of Central Banks comprising
11562-399: The number of seats in the European Parliament to 732, which exceeded the cap established by the Treaty of Amsterdam. The question of a reduction in the size of the European Commission after enlargement was resolved to a degree — the Treaty providing that once the number of Member States reached 27, the number of Commissioners appointed in the subsequent Commission would be reduced by
11685-444: The objectives', subjective notions which leave the way wide open for interpretation or practical developments." Jacques Santer, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, conceded that consensus around the principle of subsidiarity had been possible only because "it conceals different interpretations". The 1992 Treaty may have introduced a more consequential constitutional principle in its promotion "co-decision". It introduced procedures that made
11808-415: The obligations are to maintain: 1. Inflation at a rate no more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of the three best performing (lowest inflation) Member States; 2. a "budgetary position" that avoids "excessive" government deficits defined in ratios to gross domestic product (GDP) of greater than 3% for annual deficits and 60% for gross government debt ; 3. the exchange rate of
11931-531: The other EU member states, Irish voters rejected the Treaty of Nice in June 2001. The turnout itself was low (34%), partly a result of the failure of the major Irish political parties to mount a strong campaign on the issue, presuming that the Irish electorate would pass the Treaty as all previous such Treaties had been passed by big majorities. However, many Irish voters were critical of the Treaty contents, believing that it marginalised smaller states. Others questioned
12054-520: The performance thresholds for member states to progress toward the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the adoption the common currency (designated at the 1995 Madrid European as the Euro ). The four "convergence criteria", as detailed in attached protocols, impose control over inflation, public debt and the public deficit, exchange rate stability and domestic interest rates. With limited leeway granted in exceptional circumstances,
12177-523: The policy of military neutrality without a referendum. That government's 1996 white paper on foreign policy stated: It recommended joining NATO's Partnership for Peace and participating in humanitarian missions of the Western European Union (WEU), but opposed joining NATO or the WEU as incompatible with military neutrality. Ireland provided 120 Defence Forces personnel as trainers to
12300-522: The power to review secondary community law as to guarantee basic rights protection in close cooperation with the European Court of Justice. Germany was the last member state to ratify the treaty and it entered into force on November 1, 1993. From the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957, integrationists argued the free movement of workers was the logical corollary of the free movement of capital, goods and services and integral to
12423-465: The price-stability-first criteria for adoption of the single currency and for the operations of the prospective European Central Bank (ECB). Other amendments create the office of European Ombudsman , expand the Structural Fund assistance to the poorer EU regions; and broaden Community competencies in education, culture, public health, consumer protection, trans-European networks, industry and
12546-816: The principal statute governing the Irish Defence Forces , did not oblige members of the Irish Army to serve outside the state (members of the Air Corps and Naval Service were not so limited). A 1960 amendment was intended to allow deployment in United Nations peacekeeping missions, and requires three forms of authorisation, which since the 1990s have come to be called the "triple lock": These provisions were modified in 1993 to allow for Chapter VII missions and again in 2006 to allow for regionally organised UN missions. Irish leaders in
12669-434: The right to vote, and to stand, in both local and European elections. Unresolved in the Treaty is the question of their access to social rights. Political debate continued as to who should have access to public services and welfare systems funded by taxation. French President François Mitterrand was forced to abandon the centrepiece of his Socialist programme in 1983, a job creating reflation , due to speculation against
12792-435: The rules introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam being viewed as unworkable, and hence these rules have not yet been used. In response to the failed sanctions against Austria following a coalition including Jörg Haider 's party having come to power, and fears about possible future threats to the stability of the new member states to be admitted in enlargement, the Treaty of Nice added a preventive mechanism to sanctions against
12915-560: The same exemption secured by Britain from the single currency (Denmark would not have to give up the krone ), allowed for a second referendum . On 18 May 1993, the Maastricht Treaty was endorsed by a vote of 56.7%. In Ireland, the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution , allowing the state to ratify the Treaty, was approved in a referendum held on 18 June 1992 with the support of 69.1% of votes cast. In September 1992,
13038-453: The second and third "pillars" of the Union. The Treaty, however, proposed no significant departures in these areas. Coordination in foreign and security policy had taken place since the beginning of the 1970s under the name of European Political Cooperation (EPC), which had been first written into the treaties by the 1987 Single European Act . Cooperation on law enforcement, criminal justice , asylum, and immigration and other judicial matters
13161-526: The social partners, including campaigning through canvassing and all forms of media by respected pro-European figures like then EP president Pat Cox , former Czech president Václav Havel , former President of Ireland Patrick Hillery and former Taoiseach (prime minister) Dr. Garret FitzGerald . Prominent civil society campaigns on the Yes side included Fianna Fáil , Fine Gael , the Labour Party ,
13284-424: The structure of European Community. Title V and VI extend existing intergovernmental consultations on foreign-policy, security and defence matters, and on "cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs". In both cases, Member States are to "inform and consult one another within the Council [of Ministers] ", but otherwise cooperate independently of Community institutions. Title VII, Final Provisions, covers
13407-456: The treaty was vitally important for the integration and future progress of these former Eastern Bloc countries. Many people who were in favour of greater scope and power of the EU project felt that it did not go far enough and that it would in any case be superseded by future treaties. Proponents differed in the extent to which enlargement may have proceeded without the Treaty: some claimed that
13530-499: The very future of the Union's growth—if not existence—was at stake, while others said that enlargement could have legally proceeded—albeit at a slower pace—without it. Opponents of the Treaty claimed that it was a "technocratic" rather than "democratic" treaty, which would further diminish the sovereignty of national and regional parliaments, and would further concentrate power into a centralised and unaccountable bureaucracy. They also claimed that five applicant countries could have joined
13653-640: The wake of the Eurozone debt crisis unfolding from 2009, the most enduring reference to the Maastricht Treaty has been to the rules of compliance – the "Maastricht criteria" – for the currency union . Against the background of the end of the Cold War and the re-unification of Germany , and in anticipation of accelerated globalisation , the treaty negotiated tensions between member states seeking deeper integration and those wishing to retain greater national control. The resulting compromise faced what
13776-637: The war, an estimated 70,000 citizens of neutral Ireland served as volunteers in the British Armed Forces (and another estimated 50,000 from Northern Ireland). Those who deserted the Irish Army to serve in the British Army, on returning to Ireland were stripped of all pay and pension rights, and banned for seven years from any employment paid for by state or government funds. Irish military intelligence ( G2 ) shared information with
13899-537: The war, and the courts had no power to overrule the Dáil on this issue. In 2006, the Minister for Defence , Willie O'Dea , announced that the Irish government would open talks on joining the European Union battle groups . O'Dea said that joining the battlegroups would not affect Ireland's military neutrality, and that a UN mandate would be required for all battlegroup operations with Irish participation. Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson John Gormley condemned
14022-505: Was Minister for Foreign Affairs 1973–77 , claims that both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the 1960s and 1970s accepted that European integration would eventually reach a point where Ireland would have to join in defence co-operation. FitzGerald points to Charles Haughey 's opposition to the explicit mention of neutrality in a 1981 Dáil motion, stating that Haughey adopted a more pro-neutrality stance upon entering opposition later in 1981. The 1994 coalition government undertook not to change
14145-551: Was a concession to United Kingdom which continued to insist on the sufficiency of the North Atlantic alliance (supported by the non-aligned Member States, Ireland and Austria , at the 1997 Amsterdam summit, the UK prevented a merger of the WEU and the EU), As an implicit presumption subsidiarity may have been considered a check upon the supranational development of the EEC. But in making it an explicit constitutional principle
14268-522: Was a public forum to discuss Ireland's foreign, security and defence policy. Micheál Martin, then Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs, said every country in Europe had reviewed their defence and security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President of Ireland , Michael D. Higgins , rebuffed the forum, saying that Ireland was drifting away from neutrality and "playing with fire". His comments were criticised by government ministers. The forum
14391-426: Was attacked by many people as a flawed compromise. Germany had demanded that its greater population be reflected in a higher vote weighting in the Council; this was opposed by France , who insisted that the symbolic parity between France and Germany be maintained. The Commission had proposed to replace the old weighted voting system with a double majority system which would require those voting in favour to represent
14514-459: Was being pursued under the 1990 Schengen Agreement and Convention. The new provisions called on governments to "inform and consult one another within the Council of Ministers", but otherwise continued cooperation on the basis of intergovernmental liaison outside of the EC and its institutions. The West European Union , an until recently moribund club within NATO , is described as "an integral part of
14637-487: Was disrupted by anti-NATO protesters from the Connolly Youth Movement ; with Martin describing them as "undemocratic" and "trying to shut down debate". Boyd Barrett accused those involved in the forum of "trying to soften up public opinion to abandoning Ireland's neutrality." Irish Defence Forces have seen active service as part of United Nations peacekeeping activities – initially in
14760-588: Was known as the Donegal Corridor . The bodies of any crashed Allied airmen were repatriated by the Irish Army at the border, where they would be met by an Allied officer. On at least one occasion, an Allied Air Force officer thanked his Irish counterpart for the honour they bestowed upon the repatriated airmen. The Irish captain was said to reply, "Ours may be the honour, but yours is the glory." USAAF aircraft flying to North Africa refuelled at Shannon Airport and flying boats at nearby Foynes . During
14883-526: Was prosecuted for a banner reading "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland". During the 1916 Easter Rising , Connolly and the other leaders of the uprising sought military aid from Germany. In the 1921 negotiations leading to the Anglo-Irish Treaty , Erskine Childers envisaged the Irish Republic having a neutral status guaranteed in international law on the model of Belgium and Switzerland . The Irish Free State established in 1922 by
15006-774: Was the only member of Dáil Éireann to oppose it during the war, resigning from Fine Gael in 1942 and demanding that Ireland assist the Allies (while not necessarily declaring war on the Axis ). However, tens of thousands of Irish citizens, who were by law British subjects, fought in the Allied armies against the Nazis, mostly in the British army . Senators John Keane and Frank MacDermot also favoured Allied support. De Valera said in his wartime speeches that small states should stay out of
15129-490: Was to be the first in a series of EU treaty ratification crises. Having "resolved to continue the process of creating an ever closer union among the people of Europe", the Treaty proposes "further steps to be taken in order to advance European integration" under seven titles. Title I, Common Provisions, establishes the European Union (EU) on the foundation of the three, already partially merged, European Communities:
#20979