Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the fact that the Heads of Government in the eurozone countries are meeting formally after European Council meetings. This has been necessitated by the economic crisis but hopefully it will become a permanent arrangement, as is envisaged by the Lisbon treaty.

I am aware the Council has initiated excessive deficit procedures against virtually every member state. In 2009 the only two member states to keep their deficits below 3% were Luxembourg and, I believe, Denmark. The sad reality for Ireland is that most of the EU member states will, over the next 12 months, start to position themselves to begin balancing their budgets, and we will not be in a position to do that.

As regards the 2020 strategy, it is right and correct that there is an emphasis on the smart economy, on innovation and the futuristic economic priorities. However, it is important, too, to acknowledge that from a domestic viewpoint – this is replicated in many other member states – a great many of the unemployed have lost jobs in manufacturing. This is due to companies relocating to more competitive environments in Eurasia and elsewhere and to the collapse of the construction industry in Ireland, the UK and in other member states. I am not convinced the 2020 strategy addresses that. There is an immediate employment crisis within the eurozone and the European Union but much of the 2020 strategy is long term and does not address the short-term economic needs of member states. I hope the Taoiseach will take that on board. I welcome the focus he has given to the agri-food sector, which is a step forward, but given that the strategy is to be finalised in June, I hope the immediate needs of low skilled workers will be taken into account and built into the strategy.

I welcome the proposals for the draft regulation on the European citizens' initiative which were published today. That is an important step. It is important that the European Union is seen to deliver on commitments made to the people, particularly in Ireland given that we held a referendum. Those commitments must be tangible and delivered. The target date for implementation of the regulation is 1 December and I hope the Government will pursue that actively and ensure it moves forward in a speedy fashion.

The European External Action Service appears to be a bone of contention. There appears to be a failure to agree on certain high level appointments and the structural procedures that must be put in place. Perhaps the Taoiseach or the Minister would address that in the course of this debate. There was a decision of the European Council six years ago that the appointment of the European ambassador to the United States would be a political appointment. Obviously, that appointment was important from our point of view because an Irish man was ultimately appointed. However, it is unacceptable that the Commission proceeded to appoint a successor who is not a political appointment. It is in complete contravention of a political decision taken at the European Council six years ago. Carl Bildt, along with other Foreign Ministers, raised this on a formal basis in the past couple of months and I hope the Irish Government will add its voice to that criticism. It is unacceptable. There is much cynicism and scepticism about how the European Commission operates and this action should not be allowed to pass without comment by the Government.

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