Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the embassies of the member states which helped and provided information for the various panels and so on which will adorn the exhibition.

I am pleased to be here to discuss the progress made to date during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the EU and to outline developments at the General Affairs Council. As members are aware, managing a Presidency places considerable demands on any Administration, particularly for a smaller member state such as Ireland. From first entering office the Government has paid close attention to planning for the Presidency. We knew from the outset that Europe’s citizens rightly expect strong and decisive action to put the EU economy back on the road to recovery. We knew that a well-managed and effective Presidency would be good for Europe and good for Ireland. We were also conscious of the strategic importance of strong and long-term engagement by Ireland in the EU. Managing an effective Presidency is a critical element of this re-engagement.

For these reasons, and reflecting our national political priorities, we made supporting and promoting stability, job creation and growth across the EU the main objectives of the Irish EU Presidency. The Irish Presidency programme was drafted to ensure that work in every Council formation is aimed squarely at contributing to building a stronger and more robust European economy and to promoting employment and social cohesion. The Government has worked intensively to deliver on these programme objectives over the past four months, and I would like to acknowledge the work of all those involved, including in this committee, who continue to contribute to the Presidency and to ensuring that it is a success for Ireland. So far, we have made steady progress on fulfilling the objectives set out in our Presidency policy programme, but we have a lot still to do, and we are looking forward to making further advances during the remaining seven weeks of the Presidency before handing the baton on to Lithuania at the end of June.

It is also important to stress to members of this committee in particular that the intensive engagement by this Government in EU affairs will not cease after 1 July. The Taoiseach and I are committed to continuing engagement with our partners in Europe to ensure that Ireland remains where it belongs within the Union - firmly at the core of the EU decision-making process.

Tackling the unemployment crisis, and particularly the appalling levels of youth joblessness across the EU, has been one of the Presidency’s main priorities from day one. Unemployment is a scourge that damages not only those affected but their families, communities and societies. Governments and the EU must address the causes of joblessness with vigour. Our citizens demand and indeed deserve nothing less.

At the end of February we secured agreement on the youth guarantee programme. We welcomed the decision by Heads of State and Government on a €6 billion fund for a new youth employment initiative to invest in fighting joblessness among young people in the worst-affected employment black spots in the Union. During our Presidency, Ireland is also working to ensure that citizens, and particularly our young people, possess the skills, training and education to find employment in a rapidly evolving jobs market. I am pleased to note the good progress that the Presidency is making on the on the Erasmus for All programme and the professional qualifications proposals with the European Parliament. We are also working to foster growth in sectors of the economy we believe will generate smart and sustainable employment in the future. The Presidency has placed a strong emphasis on supporting research and innovation, and we are intensifying our efforts to ensure agreement on proposals such as the Horizon 2020 programme and the European Research Area.

The Single Market, which was established 20 years ago, has transformed Europe’s economy. It has delivered strong benefits for exporters, including in Ireland, and delivered competitiveness benefits for consumers. In fuelling growth in businesses across Europe, particularly small and medium enterprises, SMEs, it has also created jobs and reinvigorated economies. That is why the Irish Presidency has prioritised measures aimed at strengthening the Single Market. We secured agreement on the accounting directive last month. This will help reduce the administrative load on SMEs so that they can concentrate on developing their business and creating employment. We are continuing to make progress with the European Parliament on other proposals aimed at supporting our growth and job creation agenda, including the COSME programme and Smart Regulation.

The digital agenda is another area which can deliver opportunities for future growth and job creation, and we are working to advance measures such as the e-identification regulation and the data protection package. The agreement we brokered last month on the Unified Patent Court will make it easier to protect and promote intellectual property rights, which are at the core of the rapidly growing digital economy. We look forward to hosting the Digital Agenda Assembly in Dublin next month, which will contribute to developing this important sector of the economy in Europe. The re-use of public sector information agreement that we reached last month also offers strong potential to generate growth and jobs in Europe.

In addition to advancing measures aimed at developing and stimulating the Internal Market, the Presidency is also attaching strong importance to new and growing markets in third countries for Europe’s exporters. Official negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and Japan have been launched during the Presidency and other trade-focused negotiations are ongoing with a number of Asian states. The Presidency has made EU-US trade a major priority, and we are doing all we can to ensure we secure a mandate for the start of negotiations on a trade and investment partnership with the United States, given the enormous untapped potential of enhanced trade relations.

The jobs and growth agenda is one side of the Presidency’s plans to contribute to recovery in the EU, but this recovery has to be built on stable foundations. Ireland continues to regard the recognition at the June 2012 European Council of the need to separate banking and sovereign debt as one of the key episodes in Europe’s handling of the crisis. The decision resulted in an immediate improvement in market sentiment, but we cannot afford to be complacent. We must deliver on our commitments, including the ambitious decisions agreed at the Europe 2012 European Council, and this is what Ireland has been doing during its Presidency. We have worked since January to make progress on the banking union package. The aim of these measures is to restore health to the European banking system so that banks can provide the credit necessary to fuel recovery and growth, to ensure the mistakes made in the past are not repeated, and to protect taxpayers.

The Irish Presidency has secured agreement on the Capital Requirements Directive IV and the single supervisory mechanism, and our focus now is on other elements of the banking union, particularly the banking resolution and recovery proposal. We have also managed to secure the Parliament’s agreement on the mortgage credit directive. The Presidency has worked to implement and to develop new economic governance measures. Last February, we reached agreement with the European Parliament on the two-pack legislation, which strengthens budgetary surveillance and co-ordination in the euro area. All of these measures are designed to promote stability and confidence and provide a secure basis for future economic growth and job creation.

Another major focus of our Presidency has been to secure agreement on the budgetary framework of the European Union for the next seven years. At the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 22 April, I provided Ministers with an update on negotiations on the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and obtained general agreement to our efforts to find a compromise with the European Parliament. Our goal remains to reach agreement by the end of June and to translate the overall MFF agreement into legal texts. We are also seeking agreement on legislation underpinning the EU’s funding programmes to ensure the new programmes such as the youth guarantee can start on time in January. Intensive discussions towards this end are continuing and, as the committee will be aware, the Taoiseach and I met with Presidents Barroso and Schulz in Brussels on Monday. We agreed that formal negotiations with the Parliament would now begin, in parallel with negotiations on the draft amending budget for 2013. The first trilogue meeting will take place next Monday. We are working towards the Parliament's giving consent to the MFF regulation at its June plenary meeting. Early agreement on the budget would give a significant boost to confidence, demonstrating that the Union’s institutions are capable of working constructively together to deliver results. I expect to update the General Affairs Council on progress when it meets later this month. At the GAC, Ministers also held an initial discussion on the agenda items for the European Council on 22 May. Those topics will be more fully explored at the May General Affairs Council, which I will turn to shortly.

Germany, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands also presented to the General Affairs Council their proposal for a new and more effective mechanism to safeguard fundamental values in member states, on which they have written to the Commission. In the subsequent discussion, Vice President Viviane Reding gave an overview of the existing measures in this area and highlighted the Commission’s report on the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which was published yesterday. I expect this is an issue to which we will return in the future.

The April General Affairs Council considered enlargement. It heard about reports by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, on Kosovo and Serbia as well as a Commission report on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Ministers noted progress made by all three countries and warmly welcomed the agreement reached the preceding Friday between Kosovo and Serbia. Ministers acknowledged this historic progress toward normalising relations and congratulated those involved in brokering a deal.

The agenda for this month’s General Affairs Council, which will take place in Brussels on 21 May, is still being finalised. The main item for discussion will be preparation for the meeting of the European Council that will take place on 22 May, which will discuss energy, including completion of the internal energy market, prices, and investment in infrastructure; tax policy, with a focus on collection and tackling tax evasion and fraud; and deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union, with an update by President Van Rompuy.

I also will update the Council on progress with the multi-annual financial framework, MFF. The General Affairs Council also will take a first look ahead to the June European Council meeting, at which President Van Rompuy's report on the economic and monetary union, EMU, is expected to be a main item for discussion. It will also mark the first anniversary of the adoption of the compact for growth and jobs and of the decision to separate banking and sovereign debt, and I expect the Council will take stock of progress made. Enlargement, the European semester and justice and home affairs issues may also feature.

Before concluding my remarks, I thank the joint committee for the work it has undertaken during the Presidency and wish it well for the COSAC plenary meeting that will take place in Dublin late next month. I have only touched briefly on the main issues on the Presidency agenda but will be pleased to answer any questions members may have. I assure the joint committee that over the next seven weeks, the Presidency will do all it can to advance Europe's economic recovery and to deliver tangible results for a better future for the European Union.