Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will participate in the October meeting of the European Council in Brussels tomorrow and Friday. The agenda will cover Ukraine, economic issues, migration and external relations, particularly the situation in the Middle East. A Euro summit will also take place. Later, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, will cover external relations issues other than Ukraine and the Middle East.

I expect that the evolving, escalating and tragic situation in the Middle East will be central to discussions when we meet this week. Leaders will discuss the crisis, including the UN’s call for a humanitarian ceasefire by all parties and groups to hostilities, which we support. This would allow vital aid to reach civilians in Gaza. That call has been echoed by this House.

The escalating situation is very concerning. In addition to over 1,400 victims in Israel of the Hamas attack, more than 5,000 people are reported to have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, and over 1 million displaced. Israel, like all states, has a right to defend itself. It has suffered a shocking and brutal assault. However, it must act at all times within the parameters of international humanitarian law. How it responds matters to its future and its own security. Defence cannot mean indiscriminate retaliation and we must always distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians who live in Gaza. The instruction by the Israeli military to civilians in Gaza to move southwards is unworkable and dangerous. The UN has been unequivocal that this will lead to serious humanitarian consequences. Civilian infrastructure should be protected and there should be no restriction of essential supplies to people in Gaza, whether that is water, food, fuel or medicines. The deal brokered by the US between Egypt and Israel to allow some humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing is welcome. Last week, Ireland announced an additional €13 million in humanitarian aid to respond to the crisis. The trebling of EU humanitarian assistance is very welcome. For these commitments to be meaningful, humanitarian corridors must be open and must be secure. The provision of humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach the Palestinian people in Gaza, while those EU citizens who wish to must be allowed to leave.

At our meeting this week, I will urge European Council colleagues to work together to avoid any escalation, to prevent civilian casualties and avoid any risk of wider regional conflict. I will also underscore the importance of international humanitarian law applying in all circumstances, a principle that was set out clearly in the statement issued by the Heads of State and Government of the EU 27 on 15 October. At the 17 October extraordinary EU Council meeting, which took place by means of video conference, leaders restated this position. We were united in condemnation of Hamas and its horrific terrorist attack on innocent Israeli civilians. There can be no justification for such barbarous violence. There is also no possible justification for taking and holding hostages, including very young children, elderly people and other vulnerable people. They should be released immediately and without precondition. Hamas should lay down its arms. It is a terrorist organisation, not a state. We also agreed to continue to work with all relevant actors and partners in the region to encourage respect for international humanitarian law and to prevent further regional escalation.

Leaders will also consider the wider impacts of the conflict, including on communities and society in Europe. At our meeting on 17 October, I expressed my solidarity with France, Sweden and Belgium following the recent attacks on a school in France and on Swedish football fans attending a match in Brussels. Islamic extremism and violence has spilled blood in European cities too often. The fighting in Gaza heightens the risk of this and it is very much in our own interests that all of this should stop. We need to guard against Islamophobia and antisemitism at all times.

Ultimately, we know that there can be no solution to the situation without political progress leading to a two-state solution. However distant that prospect might seem now, we must continue to work for it and to call for the necessary political leadership on all sides to make it possible.

Leaders will also discuss the latest situation in Ukraine, reiterating our condemnation for Russia’s war of aggression and imperialism. We have in recent days seen Russia continue to bomb and kill civilians in Ukraine, as it has done since it launched its illegal invasion. Russia will make cynical use of any loss of focus by the international community. We must ensure, therefore, that we do our utmost to deny it the opportunity. The EU is committed to providing Ukraine with the humanitarian, political, economic, financial, and military assistance it needs, for as long as it takes.

At our meeting this week, we will discuss the provision of sustainable military assistance to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility and the EU military assistance mission, as well as longer-term security commitments. It is worth recalling that all assistance is being provided while respecting the security and defence policies of certain EU member states; an important point for Ireland. As well as non-lethal military assistance under the European peace facility, Ireland’s total contribution to the Ukrainian people since February 2022 is over €210 million.

Leaders will also discuss the provision of humanitarian and civil protection assistance to Ukraine. Ireland has provided water treatment plants and equipment for repairing gas and electricity networks. We will continue to identify other ways we might be able to help. Russia ending its war and respecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace. Ireland endorses President Zelenskyy’s peace plan. It is up to Ukraine to determine the terms, conditions and timelines for any peace negotiations.

We will also continue to insist that the perpetrators of this aggression on Ukraine be held accountable. I expect leaders to take stock of ongoing efforts to establish a tribunal for the prosecution of Russia and its leaders for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as well as to reaffirm our commitment to the work of the International Criminal Court. We will also reiterate our strongest condemnation of the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children and others to Russia and Belarus. Such outrageous violations of international law must result in consequences, and those taken must be safely returned. We will consider how to continue to weaken Russia’s ability to prosecute the war through ensuring our sanctions regime is robust and is not being circumvented. Now that Russia has suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain initiative, we will consider how to support Ukraine in continuing to export the grain that many of the world’s people depend upon.

We will also express our continuing solidarity with Moldova. Moldova, like Ukraine, is on a path towards EU membership and we will assist both countries in reform efforts so they too can reap the benefits. In December, the European Council will consider whether to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. It will depend on the Commission’s assessment, which is due to be published early next month.

In October, the European Council will have a political discussion on the proposed revision of the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, which is the European Union's budget. The targeted revision of the EU budget, proposed by the Commission in June, aims to reinforce a limited number of priority areas for the period to 2027. There is broad agreement on the Commission’s proposals providing for sustainable multi-annual financing to Ukraine. The €50 billion package for Ukraine proposed by the Commission comprises €33 billion in loans and €17 billion in grants. Member states are also examining the other elements of the Commission’s proposals, which provide for €50 billion of further spending in areas such as migration and external action, investments in strategically important technologies and our response to increased interest rates and administrative costs. Ireland will continue to engage constructively with the Commission’s proposals while also seeking to ensure the EU budget is funded and managed in the most cost-effective way. We will also provide political guidance for further work in the Council with a view to reaching agreement on the proposed review at our December meeting.

The October meeting of the European Council will also return to economic issues more generally, including the Single Market, industrial policy and energy policy. Significant legislative developments in EU industrial policy over recent months, alongside easing of state aid rules, include the Chips Act agreed earlier this year and the critical raw materials Act and the net zero industry Act, which are both nearing final stages of negotiation. Ireland will continue to highlight the importance of safeguarding the Single Market and the level playing field among the member states on which it is built as well as improving the framework conditions for investment.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven energy costs to unprecedented levels, which is having massive consequences for the whole of Europe. In response to Russia’s aggressive behaviour, EU countries have shown great unity. Policies to improve energy security, supply diversification and energy efficiency and to accelerate the move towards renewables are at the heart of climate and energy policy. The Granada Declaration, agreed at our informal meeting earlier this month, provides that member states will concentrate particularly on energy and resource efficiency, circularity, decarbonisation, resilience to natural disasters and adaption to climate change. Leaders will meet in Euro Summit format to exchange views on the economic and financial situation, including the development of Europe’s financial and capital markets and ongoing work on a reformed economic governance framework.

The European Council will also discuss migration, in particular its external dimension. This includes the development of mutually beneficial partnerships with third countries. Migration is regularly discussed, including at the recent informal meeting in Granada. The situation continues to be difficult for member states, with many seeing increased numbers of migrants arriving at a time when we are also hosting large numbers of people fleeing war in Ukraine. The European Union has focused on stepping up its efforts to prevent irregular departures and loss of life, to strengthen the European Union’s borders, to fight against smugglers and to increase returns for those refused international protection. Recently, justice and home affairs ministers discussed the EU’s approach to the external dimension of migration. They also discussed the need to engage with third countries of origin to develop a model of mutually beneficial co-operation to prevent irregular departures to Europe. Ministers are committed to reaching a political agreement on all elements of the pact on migration and asylum during the current legislative term. When in force, it will establish common procedures for deciding international protection requests and introduce mandatory border procedures and a new flexible solidarity mechanism. Ireland will continue to work with our EU partners to ensure humanitarian and international legal obligations are upheld. The protection of life and safety at sea is paramount, irrespective of the circumstances that lead people to be in a situation of distress. However, we are in no doubt that human traffickers and those who facilitate them are responsible for deaths at sea.

In his remarks, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, will consider the situations in the Sahel, Nagorno-Karabakh, including the mass displacement of Karabakh Armenians and relations between Serbia and Kosovo. He will also discuss preparations for the Conference of the Parties, COP, 28, and the EU response to recent damage to critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. I will update the House again in the coming weeks.

See this speech in context