Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is nice to see the Acting Chairman in his role today and I am delighted to have an opportunity to address the committee, as it has been a while since I have had the chance to do it. I am very pleased to be here today.

It is 63 years since Robert Schuman presented a proposal for the creation of a community of European nation states, a community which would be bound together by shared values and concerns while accepting and embracing diversity. This proposal, made on 9 May 1950, would lay the foundations for lasting peace and prosperity in Europe and would give all Europeans the democratic tools to ensure governments worked together in their interests. Such is the importance of the Schuman declaration and the European project that 9 May has been designation as Europe Day to acknowledge the peace and unity which has been accomplished but also to acknowledge that there is more to do. It is for this very reason that this Government committed to a week-long parliamentary debate on Europe and Ireland's priorities within the EU and why I very much welcome the opportunity to speak to this committee in Europe week on the question of democratic accountability and legitimacy in the European Union. We will have a plenary debate tomorrow in the Dáil Chamber on the same topic.

The economic and financial crisis has contributed to a wider crisis in confidence in the institutions that have been so painstakingly built in Europe over the past 50 years and of which Ireland has been an integral part for the past four decades. We need to confront this crisis of confidence with a sense of urgency and determination, along with a clear understanding of what is at stake. The immediate context of this discussion is the new framework of economic governance that has been developed in response to the crisis and to protect our common currency.

The European semester - the EU's new system of economic and budgetary co-ordination - is already in its third year. Under the Irish Presidency agreement has most recently been reached on the so-called two pack of measures to strengthen budgetary co-ordination and surveillance in the euro area.

These measures do raise questions regarding the accountability of the new system and national parliaments ought to consider how these measures can be brought within their existing budgetary functions. That was clearly recognised by Herman Van Rompuy in his report on economic and monetary union published last December when he pointed out that "budgetary decisions are at the heart of member states' parliamentary democracies". The European Council has repeatedly underlined the need to address the issue, most recently in March when it stressed that: "Any new steps towards strengthening economic governance will need to be accompanied by further steps towards stronger legitimacy and accountability." I, like many of my colleagues throughout Europe, fundamentally believe that we must have an open and frank discussion on the issue. That is why I devoted the informal meeting of European affairs Ministers I hosted in January in Dublin to a consideration of the topic.

I was pleased that we were also joined by representatives of the European Parliament and of the Oireachtas, including the committee Chairman, Deputy Hannigan. I asked Professor Brigid Laffan to prepare a paper to guide our discussion. The paper set out many of the key questions which we need to address. I recommend it to members if they have not seen it already. It is still available on the Irish Presidency website. I was impressed by the thoughtfulness with which my colleagues discussed the topic. There was a clear consensus on the need to address any democratic deficit with distinct roles envisaged for national parliaments and the European Parliament. It was also clear that they had very little desire for further institutional or treaty change but could see steps that could be taken within the existing framework. We should not fear treaty change if it is necessary but we must first establish what we want to achieve and the steps that need to be taken and then establish the legal consequences of that, rather than ruling anything out at the outset. Many colleagues felt that simple improvements in terms of information such as informing and consulting national parliaments about developments at European level would yield quick results, as would new forms of co-operation between national parliaments and the European Parliament.

I also very much welcome the work that is being done by this committee and, in particular, by the Chairman. He and a group of his European colleagues have been actively engaged in considering ways to improve co-ordination between national parliaments, strengthening dialogue with the Commission and the other institutions and developing a system for consulting national parliaments on the semester process. The democratic legitimacy of the semester process was also considered last month by the speakers of EU parliaments who were meeting in Nicosia. They looked specifically at the provision contained in the stability treaty for a conference of representatives of the European Parliament and of national parliaments to discuss budgetary policy. Stressing the necessity for democratic legitimacy and accountability in the economic governance of the EU, they proposed the establishment of an interparliamentary conference with representatives from national parliaments and from the European Parliament. The conference would meet twice yearly, once in Brussels and once in the member state holding the Presidency. The conference would meet for the first time under the Lithuanian Presidency and then at the beginning of 2014 at the European Parliament.

The conclusion I draw from the various strands of activity, whether at governmental or parliamentary level, is that there is a very clear sense of the need to strengthen democratic accountability and legitimacy across the board. That is even more pronounced as we take further steps towards closer economic and monetary integration, with the greater sharing of sovereignty which that, by necessity, implies. There is widespread political will to address this and the various contributions that have been made from all parties have been offered in a constructive and open spirit. I hope that will continue. However, it would be naive to deny that we face a deeper and more intractable problem of democratic accountability and legitimacy. Many people in Europe today do not feel that the European institutions are accountable. They are sometimes perceived to be remote, opaque and out of touch with everyday concerns. That is not necessarily unique in that the same view is often expressed about national parliaments. Nonetheless, it is important that we take it on board and try to tackle it. There is a low level of public understanding of precisely how Europe works and the complexities of the decision-making process. There is much work to be done in that regard.

Many members will have seen a recent Eurobarometer survey carried out in the six largest member states which suggests a widespread collapse in trust among citizens in the European Union. That is most worrying. In part, it reflects the unpopularity of the measures which had to be taken to address the crisis and the weaknesses in economic governance in Europe that were, in part, to blame for the crisis in the first place. The weaknesses have been exposed and people have felt the consequences of them at first hand. No doubt, as we emerge from the crisis and economic conditions in Europe improve, so too will the reputation of the European institutions. It is quite logical. However, I still believe we cannot be complacent and we must confront head-on the type of ill-informed euroscepticism that is all too evident today.

We must make the case for Europe and remind people of how the European Union has brought unprecedented peace and prosperity to the Continent. Education has an important role to play. Educating people about how Europe works is important. For that reason I started the Blue Star programme in primary schools when I was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs in 2011. The purpose of the programme is to encourage awareness among a new generation of the benefits that EU membership brings us and to help pupils to learn more about the institutions, history and culture of Europe and to be more engaged, thoughtful and critical, if need be, of the process, but to meaningfully engage young people from a young age. The response by pupils, teachers and parents has been positive. The programme was piloted last year in 40 schools and we have approximately 100 schools this year. The programme is growing all the time, as is the level of interest among schools.

I very much welcome the decision by the Oireachtas to publish an annual scrutiny work programme. As elected representatives we have a responsibility to monitor decisions taken at EU level. For that reason the Government supported the introduction of the new arrangements that now exist in the Oireachtas for the scrutiny of EU business. I speak from experience as I was a member of the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny in the previous Oireachtas term. A number of members were also on the committee at the time. The horizontal and expert approach through sectoral committees is a much more effective way to deal with the scrutiny of legislation. However, there is still a long way to go. These things take time to bed down and for members to become familiar with them and delve into them but that is beginning to happen.

We also have the opportunity this year, the European Year of Citizens, to recall and celebrate the rights we all enjoy as EU citizens – rights which, sadly, all too often we take for granted. I refer to the right to live and work in other member states, the range of social and economic rights the EU has developed or the right to vote in European elections, which is a hugely important aspect. As the Chairman indicated, next year we will have European elections and this will be a litmus test for the legitimacy of the European Parliament, which now has vastly enhanced powers under the Lisbon treaty.

It will be interesting to assess whether that actually translates in terms of turnout and voter participation. As I said, with the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament enjoys substantially increased powers and has equal legislative powers with the European Council on most matters. I always say that Ministers consider themselves to be hugely important when it comes to decision making at European level but MEPs are just as important these days. It really is a great platform for a genuine debate in the run-up to the European elections and the engagement of the political parties in that process is hugely important. It will be interesting to monitor and is something we can discuss in more detail in our exchange later.

I am very much of the opinion that if the European Union can deliver on policies that will improve the lot of European citizens then public confidence and trust in the European institutions can be rebuilt and improved dramatically. That informs part of what we are doing during our European Council Presidency term. We are working extremely hard to focus our Presidency on achievable, realistic policy goals which are firmly focused on delivering on our task of creating stability, jobs and growth. That is the theme of our Presidency and we chose that theme in an effort to re-instill confidence in the voting public and to demonstrate to them that the European Union can work for them and in their interests. We have prioritised those areas we believe will provide the best sources of employment. We are focusing on the single market, external trade and so on. It is all about creating and developing opportunities for businesses to grow, expand and create employment. It is an obvious but hugely important task for the Irish Presidency.

We are also working hard to agree on the budgetary framework for the European Union. Members will be aware that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste were in Brussels yesterday meeting President Schulz and President Barroso. The Tánaiste and I have been working intensively with the European Parliament for the last number of months to try to break the deadlock on the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, which is an absolutely essential goal of the Irish Presidency. If we can deliver on the MFF we can then move forward on policies that really matter to people and which have the capacity to improve the lot of European citizens, whether it is through the Cohesion Fund, the Structural Fund, the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, the fisheries policy, Horizon 2020 and so on. That is absolutely vital and we hope that we will continue to have the support of the European Parliament to achieve that goal by the end of our Presidency.

At this very critical time in the development of the European Union and the European project, which is also the 40th anniversary of Ireland's relationship with the EU, Europe has to be seen to be delivering solutions for citizens and member states rather than being perceived as being part of the problem. That is the big challenge that faces all of us as legislators, both in the national Parliament and on the European stage. I hope that we can have a positive exchange here today whereby committee members share their views with me because it is a two-way process. I am interested in hearing from all political parties and those of all political persuasions because this is a common goal and one that is absolutely vital to the future of our country and our citizens. I look forward to answering any questions members may have.