DUP candidate warns against European army

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.

Democratic Unionist candidate Jim Allister said during campaigning in Strangford, alongside the local MP Iris Robinson, the idea of common defence force was being pursued by Europhiles.

However he insisted it would not be in the United Kingdom’s defence interests to have an EU Army.

“The Euro Rapid Reaction Force is clearly being set up to evolve into a European army,” Mr Allister said.

“The current defence blueprint, presently before EU leaders, sets 2010 for the development of the Rapid Reaction Force into an EU peacekeeping and security force.

“The armament agency has been established in shadow form and is intended to go live this year. Only an army needs such an agency.”

Mr Allister noted that there were also plans to have an EU aircraft carrier by 2008. He said this was yet more proof of moves to establish an EU army.

The barrister continued: “I am opposed to such development believing it has no place in a Europe of nation states and believing that the UK’s defence and interests are best protected with its own, independent armed forces.

“The EU’s disastrous meddling in the Balkans hardly bodes well for European-inspired military action”.

Meanwhile, a call yesterday by Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brun for Irish to be recognised by the EU as an official working language was today described as unrealistic and politically naïve.

Ulster Unionist candidate Jim Nicholson said the former Stormont Health Minister’s call showed "just how introverted republicans were".

“The translation of documents and speeches into any EU language is hugely expensive,” Mr Nicholson said.

“Translation into a minority language such as Irish would simply be a waste of money. The EU already recognises 20 languages and expecting it to diversify even further to accommodate a relatively small number of Irish language speakers is not being realistic.”

The Ulster Unionist candidate said it was estimated translation and interpretation of all EU languages cost €474m.

This, he said, was a huge expense on taxpayers and there were also question marks hanging over a number of the ‘smaller’ countries languages which were spoken by a huge number of people when compared to Irish.

“Yet again, Sinn Féin’s latest proposition is merely a continuation of its hijacking of the Irish language for political purposes and nothing to with sensible, pragmatic European politics,” he said.