Editing Republic of Ireland (section)

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Ireland}}
{{See also|Ireland–NATO relations}}
[[File:P20230317AS-2347 (52777500991).jpg|thumb|upright= 1.0|left|Former Taoiseach [[Leo Varadkar]] and [[US President]] [[Joe Biden]], at the [[White House]], [[Washington, D.C.]], on 17 March 2023]]
Foreign relations are substantially influenced by membership of the European Union, although bilateral relations with the United Kingdom and United States are also important.<ref>See Michael J. Geary, ''An Inconvenient Wait: Ireland's Quest for Membership of the EEC, 1957–73'' (Institute of Public Administration, 2009) ({{ISBN|978-1-904541-83-7}})</ref> It held the [[Presidency of the Council of the European Union]] on six occasions, most recently from January to June 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:001:0011:0012:EN:PDF |title=Official Journal of the European Union |access-date=12 November 2010 |archive-date=7 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407200152/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:001:0011:0012:EN:PDF |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ireland tends towards independence in foreign policy; thus the country is not a member of [[NATO]] and has a [[The Emergency (Ireland)#Neutrality|longstanding]] policy of military neutrality. This policy has led to the [[Irish Defence Forces]] contributing to peace-keeping missions with the United Nations since 1960, including during the [[Congo Crisis]] and subsequently in [[Cyprus]], [[Lebanon]] and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.military.ie/overseas/index.htm |title=Ireland and the United Nations |access-date=15 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414031723/http://www.military.ie/overseas/index.htm |archive-date=14 April 2010}}</ref>

Despite [[Irish neutrality during World War II]], Ireland had more than 50,000 [[Participants in World War II#Ireland|participants in the war]] through enlistment in the British armed forces. During the [[Cold War]], Irish military policy, while ostensibly neutral, was biased towards NATO.<ref>{{cite web|last = Kennedy|first = Michael|title = Ireland's Role in Post-War Transatlantic Aviation and Its Implications for the Defence of the North Atlantic Area|publisher = Royal Irish Academy|date = 8 October 2014|url = http://www.histech.nl/Shot2004/programma/txt/kennedy.asp?file=kennedy|access-date = 10 October 2007|archive-date = 17 November 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071117075026/http://www.histech.nl/Shot2004/programma/txt/kennedy.asp?file=kennedy|url-status = dead}}</ref> During the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], [[Seán Lemass]] authorised the search of Cuban and Czechoslovak aircraft passing through Shannon and passed the information to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]].<ref>[http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/1228/1198509920335.html Irish Times, 28 December 2007 p. 1] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707012005/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/1228/1198509920335.html |date=7 July 2012}}.</ref> Ireland's air facilities were used by the United States military for the delivery of military personnel involved in the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] through [[Shannon Airport]]. The airport had previously been used for the [[United States invasion of Afghanistan]] in 2001, as well as the [[Gulf War|First Gulf War]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Private Members' Business. – Foreign Conflicts: Motion (Resumed) – Dáil Éireann (29th Dáil) |website=Houses of the Oireachtas |date=30 January 2003 |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2003-01-30/5/ |access-date=15 July 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511091051/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0560/D.0560.200301300005.html |archive-date=11 May 2011 }} – [[Tony Gregory]] speaking in [[Dáil Éireann]]</ref>

Since 1999, Ireland has been a member of NATO's [[Partnership for Peace]] (PfP) program and NATO's [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council]] (EAPC), which is aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/state-joins-partnership-for-peace-on-budget-day-1.255246 |title=State joins Partnership for Peace on Budget day |first=Patrick |last=Smyth |date=29 November 1999 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=6 May 2008 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903232010/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/state-joins-partnership-for-peace-on-budget-day-1.255246 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_82584.htm |title=Signatures of Partnership for Peace Framework Document |publisher=NATO website |date=21 April 2008 |access-date=6 May 2008 |archive-date=20 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320221141/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_82584.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>