Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Perhaps colleagues have specific questions, but I will begin with two questions. The first relates to the EMU. The Minister of State said we want to see a greater focus on aggregate economic and fiscal positions within the eurozone and that we need to recognise that while some countries have excessive deficits, some have current account surpluses. One of those with a surplus is one of the main countries in the euro area, Germany. What direct pressure is applied at these meetings to countries like Germany to do something about the situation? It is in the interest of the rest of the eurozone that something is done, and to do that we need to focus on countries with a surplus.

My second question relates to migration. The Minister is probably aware that before a previous General Affairs Council meeting we had the Italian ambassador and Peter Sutherland, the UN special representative on migration, at our committee to talk about their views on the Mediterranean crisis. One proposal made by Mr. Sutherland was that we should explore the option for the European Commission to process migrants in a remote area outside of the European Union. The committee took this suggestion on board and brought it to the COSAC meeting in Riga where we had a debate at the plenary session on the issue. The proposal was not passed by sufficient numbers at Riga. However, what is the Taoiseach's and the Minister of State's position on this proposal. Is it something they would support and, if so, is it something they would push at the next General Affairs Council meeting?