Brian Hayes has urged the European Commission not to allow the European Investment Bank to become an arms fund.
New powers to allow the institution, which is based in Luxembourg, to invest in the EU defence industry were proposed in Brussels last month.
France and Germany, in particular, have been lobbying the Commission for the EU to take on a military role of “peace power” and are seeking €90 million to be funnelled into armament research between now and 2020. This fund would be boosted to €500 million a year thereafter.
Mr Hayes, Fine Gael’s Dublin MEP, said that the move would set a dangerous precedent.
“Right now in Europe we are seeing a greater push for more military and defence spending to protect Europe from terrorist threats. We do need to address these threats, but we need a common approach that takes into account the views of all member states, whether they are big or small, whether they are neutral or part of Nato.
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“The commission recently proposed an action plan for a European defence fund which would give powers to the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance projects for the European defence industry. This would effectively be giving the EIB powers that it does not want and may conflict with its mandate of ethical lending.”
He urged the government to reject any proposal for the bank to fund the EU arms industry given Ireland’s neutral status.
“I don’t believe this is in the best interest of Ireland and may not respect the wishes of several member states. The EIB’s role is about providing growth and employment to Europe,” he said. “It would be perverse to allow a lending bank whose focus is on sustainable development to bolster the European arms industry.
“Nowadays we are facing constant calls in the EU to bolster military spending. Defence is a member-state prerogative; member states should not be directed on how much funds are allocated to their defence budgets,” he added.