Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his colleagues and I congratulate the Minister on the content of his address. It was very positive, as it should be and as we would have expected given the Minister's previous membership of this committee.

It is good to see the Government taking this stance. Of course, there is no other stance to take. I believe there is no other stance for Europe to take, but that matter will be decided by the British people. In the discourse between the Irish and British Governments to what extent do we, and can we, encourage our parliamentary colleagues in the UK regarding the need to recognise the importance of membership of the Union for the UK, that is, the importance from its point of view, our point of view, the point of view of Northern Ireland and the point of view of Europe? How well is that being received, and how well will it be received?

Also, to what degree can the Minister and his colleagues convince other European member states, which might have like-minded tendencies? For example, we were told by a representative of a committee some time ago that a certain number of European governments tend to liaise with each other on the basis that they have a common theme, and that euroscepticism, anti-Europeanism or nationalism, whatever one wishes to call it, is growing. To what extent do we liaise with Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, all of which have shown some reticence in this area in recent times? How convincing can we be? Can we make serious impacts in terms of canvassing support from those countries within the European Union which might have a tendency to go elsewhere as well?

There are many Members of the European Parliament who are openly anti-European or eurosceptic. What measures have been taken within the European Union by each member state to identify the reasons for the growth in euroscepticism? There must be some reason for it, apart from the growth of nationalism which was referred to earlier. There are consequences. If we reach a situation where everybody is opposed to Europe, and the public representatives who are elected to the European Parliament show there is a huge degree of reticence towards the European project, that is bound to impact in a negative way. That is the basis for my asking whether it has been found possible to address the issues that appear to cause the problem of anti-European sentiments. There are different reasons in different countries. However, just because it becomes fashionable to be anti-European, it does not necessarily mean it is right. I will be interested to hear the Minister's response.

To what extent have we convinced our colleagues of the financial and economic cost to Europe, to Britain and to Ireland of a British exit from the EU? That short and simple question pertains to something that resonates with most people eventually. It is all right to fantasise about things of this nature. It is all right to be jingoistic from time to time. It sounds good. It is great rhetoric and all that kind of stuff. However, it is hugely important that we recognise the financial or economic implications of such an approach.

It is imperative that each EU member state recognise the importance of maintaining the European project. Any deviation from the European visions, ideals and objectives that were set out by the founding fathers many years ago could have permanent and lasting consequences, perhaps not immediately, that would have a disastrous impact not just on the EU but on the entire continent of Europe.