Those of us still implacably wed to the notion of Irish neutrality — whatever that really means in 2015 — will undoubtedly be at least disturbed by the weekend declaration by EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who suggested that a common European army would be a timely deterrent to further Russian aggression on the continent.

NEXT Friday we will vote on the Lisbon Treaty. It will be by far the most important vote any of us will cast in very many years if not decades.

WE even have it in song: “On far foreign shores, from Dunkirk to Belgrade, lie the soldiers and chiefs of the Irish Brigade.”

A group of Cork businesswomen had a chance to get up close and personal with one of the European Union’s most senior politicians recently when they met Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission, for coffee and a chat during the Commissioner’s visit to the city.

A British minister said today that Irish voters rejected the EU’s Lisbon Treaty in part because they did not understand it,.

THE Government is considering pulling the defence forces out of EU peacekeeping duties in a bid to win acceptance of the Lisbon treaty and end any concerns about conscription.

BARRY WALSH (Letters, June 12) appears to object when I pointed out that the original remit of the Referendum Commission was to “outline arguments for and against” whatever referendum was being held, but that this was changed when we gave our politicians a close call at the Nice Treaty.

BLAME for the no vote win rests squarely on the shoulders of the European politicians themselves.

The Irish Anti-War Movement is holding a major national “No to War, No to Lisbon” conference this weekend in Dublin.

THE media recently reported on secret plans to develop EU embassies as part of the European External Action Service which will be instituted by the Lisbon Treaty.

WOULD you sign a contract without reading it especially if you didn’t trust the salesman?

LEGISLATION to allow Irish troops take part in European Union battle groups will be in place as soon as this summer, Defence Minister Willie O'Dea said yesterday.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea tonight signalled Ireland’s future participation in EU battle groups.

WHEN the issue of sending Irish troops to the Asian tsunami disaster zone cropped up, it was bound to raise questions.

HERE’S a question to ponder as December 25 approaches: for how long more will Christmas be celebrated in Europe? In the short term, these are exciting times to be European.

The proposal for a European Union Rapid Reaction Force is another way of creating the conditions for a United States of Europe with its own army, it was claimed today.

A poll showing a majority of Britons in favour of a European constitution revived calls for a referendum in the UK today.

WHEN the issue of a European army arose during the various EU referenda, I was always opposed to such a force.

Sinn Fein has accused the Government of marching Ireland into a European army via the Nice Treaty.

THE Green Party yesterday branded the Government’s promises that the Nice Treaty will not affect our neutrality as meaningless.

FERGUS Finlay (Irish Examiner, Oct 1) took almost half a page to outline why we should vote ’yes’ to Nice.

Ann Cahill, European Correspondent

Agreement is expected shortly on two declarations relating to Irish neutrality at the EU summit in Seville.

Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen has defended the Government’s decision to re-run the referendum on the Nice Treaty, even though it was rejected by 54% of Irish voters last year.

Fine Gael's Foreign Affairs spokesman Jim O'Keeffe is claiming that opponents of the Nice Treaty are misleading voters by suggesting it would lead to the creation of a European army.