SINN FÉIN MEP Kathleen Funchion has called on the EU’s foreign commissioner to her withdraw remarks on Ireland’s neutrality.

During a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday on the upcoming Nato summit next week, Funchion criticised the EU’s inaction on dealing with Israel’s military operations in the Gaza, Iran and other parts of the Middle East.

The Ireland South MEP later noted the sovereign right of each member state to choose its own foreign policies and if they participate in military alliances such as Nato. She said that the EU hopes it recognises Ireland’s right to maintain its historical neutral stance.

“We in Ireland have a proud history and tradition of UN peacekeeping, and long may that continue,” Funchion said, adding that it was “important to reference the creeping militarisation into EU politics”.

“This debate has been a combination of maddening and depressing for the past two hours, listening to the vast majority of speakers. I would also remind people that, at its core, the EU is supposed to be a peace project, and we should not move away from this”

Other members also voiced concern over the fulfilment of international law obligations in the conflict during the debate and called for a renewed effort to achieve peace in the Middle East and in Ukraine.

‘Peace does not mark end of suffering’

During her closing remarks, the European Commission Vice President and foreign affairs Commissioner Kaja Kallas said that peace can only be achieved in Ukraine when the aggressor, Russia, is willing to negotiate.

She addressed Funchion’s remarks and claimed that Ireland had the chance for “prosperity” in the years following the World War II, while the rest of Europe experienced “atrocities”.

She said, in that context, that a negotiated peace through surrender would not benefit countries under siege by others.

“I want to address our Irish colleagues,” Kallas said. “Peace doesn’t mean the human suffering will stop. If you surrender, you [still] have the aggressor. [If] you say, ‘Take all that you want’, it doesn’t mean that human suffering will stop.

“In our experience behind the Iron Curtain [the border between the Soviet Union and Europe during the Cold War] after World War II, countries like Ireland got to build up their prosperity, but for us, it meant atrocities, mass deportations, suppression of our culture and language.

“This is what happens, it is peace – but not freedom. It’s not freedom of choice for people. And that is what the EU is all about and that’s what we’re fighting for.”

‘Ill-advised remarks should be withdrawn’

The remarks have been criticised as “deeply inaccurate” by MEP Funchion, who said the vice-president was dismissive of the post-war experience of people on the island of Ireland.

Funchion said Kallas’ comments were “ill-advised and deeply insensitive to the experiences of Irish communities still seeking justice to this day”.

She added: “Ireland too endured atrocities, from the Ballymurphy massacre to Bloody Sunday, where innocent civilians were shot and killed by British soldiers. Our people suffered internment without trial, and widespread discrimination in housing and employment, particularly in the North.

“Furthermore, the suppression of Irish language and culture has been an ongoing battle, as evidenced by the decades-long campaign for an Irish Language Act in the North.

She added: “I have written to the vice-president asking her to withdraw her remarks and to acknowledge the reality of Ireland’s past.”

Kallas’ office has been contacted for comment.

Includes reporting by Press Association