H.E. Mr. Patrick Engelberg:

It is a great pleasure and honour to present to the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs the programme of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It is Luxembourg’s 12th Presidency and the first since the Lisbon treaty fundamentally modified the functioning of the EU and the relations between its institutions and, of course, the role of the Presidencies.

Ireland showed us in 2013 that, despite these changes, a committed Presidency can make a difference. It is in that same spirit that we see this as a genuine opportunity to show our commitment vis-à-visEuropean integration and to the principles and values the European Union is built upon. Our approach is based on outreach and openness: listening to the citizens, supporting enterprises, and collaborating with partners and institutions with a view to acting in the general interest of the EU.

The Presidency will endeavour to put the citizen at the heart of the European project as the title of its programme suggests - A Union for the Citizens. The Luxembourg Presidency programme focuses on continuity and on the thorough implementation of the strategic agenda adopted by the European Council in June 2014. It duly takes the policy orientations of the President of the European Commission, the Commission’s annual work programme and the work of the Trio Presidency into account.

The Presidency programme is divided into seven key priorities covering the main challenges the European Union faces today. Given the post-crisis context, stimulating investment to boost growth and employment is an indispensable response to the main concern of the European citizens. The actions of the Presidency will build on the Investment Plan for Europe of the President of the European Commission and will focus strongly on putting a better regulatory framework for investments in place, in particular for SMEs. It will also promote the establishment of the Capital Markets Union in order to enable capital markets to play a bigger role in the financing of the economy. The Presidency will pay particular attention to two legislative proposals linked to the CMU - first, a proposal to ensure transparent, simple and high-quality securitisation in order to revitalise a market that has not yet returned to its pre-crisis levels and to address the risks associated with securitisation and, second, the review of the prospectus directive in order to facilitate access to capital markets for SMEs.

Luxembourg will emphasise and give a strong impetus to the social dimension of the EU. Social investment policies must go hand in hand with the European Union’s goal to create more sustainable growth. Measures against unemployment and the convergence of social policies rank high on our agenda. The Presidency will lend its full support to the Commission’s efforts to relaunch the social dialogue in order to ensure better economic and social governance at European level. The Tripartite Social Summit, which will meet before the autumn European Council, will be an opportunity for a constructive exchange between the social partners, the European Commission, EU Heads of States and Governments and Luxembourg’s and the Netherlands’ Ministers for Labour and Social Affairs.

Managing migration, combining freedom, justice and security will be a further priority. The Presidency will push for progress in the different fields covered by the Justice and Home Affairs Council, ranging from family law and data protection to internal security as well as immigration and asylum policy. The fight against terrorism and the agenda on migration are pressing issues for Europe as a whole and must be addressed quickly in order to provide adequate responses. Even if internal security is primarily the responsibility of the respective member states, we believe that the EU can provide added value, for instance, with the implementation of a European passenger name record or the reinforcement of external border controls, information exchange and operational co-operation.

Furthermore, it is the Presidency’s ambition to revitalise the EU Single Market by way of an improved recourse to harmonisation and mutual recognition. Particular attention will also be paid to the development of a genuine digital single market, which bears new opportunities for citizens and a forward-looking economy. The three pillars of the digital single market strategy proposed by the Commission supported by the Luxembourg Presidency and which, as we know, are of particular relevance in Ireland, are: better access to digital goods and services; the shaping of the right environment for digital networks and services to flourish; and maximising the growth potential of the digital single market. We believe that this project should be at the core of the Single Market strategy. As our Minister in charge of this dossier cited recently, we want to get rid of having 28 mini-markets and instead have one big market.

The Presidency will support efforts for better regulation to ensure a European level-playing field, facilitate competitiveness for businesses and protect the interests of the EU citizens. We will support efforts to implement the Regulatory, Fitness and Performance Programme, REFIT, seeking to identify and highlight the European added value. To improve the functioning of the Single Market and to stimulate growth, it would be useful to adopt common European rules in order to achieve legal certainty for market players, failing which, 28 national legislations would be applicable.

Boosting European competitiveness in a global, transparent framework is another of our priorities. Thus, the completion of the European Monetary Union as well as the fight against fraud and tax evasion will be two key areas of work for the Luxembourg Presidency. Transparency and the creation of a level playing field are key preconditions to ensure competitiveness. The Presidency aims at successfully concluding the negotiations on the proposal for transparency on tax rulings as proposed by the Commission.

The international trade agenda will be a key topic in Luxembourg’s programme with the signing of the CETA agreement with Canada and the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. As Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Mr. Xavier Bettel, made clear recently, “during the Luxembourg Presidency, TTIP will not belong in a darkroom”. Therefore, a public debate will be organised by the Presidency in November in Brussels.

The Presidency will endeavour to promote sustainable development for the benefit of European citizens by supporting the transition towards a green, innovative and circular economy. The Presidency will steer the discussions in the EU at the 21st Conference on Climate Change, COP21, in Paris in December and will combine its efforts with the European Commission to ensure that the European voice is heard. Europe has to assume its responsibility to tackle the issue of global warming effectively. Luxembourg will help contribute to the establishment of objectives for sustainable development that will replace the eight millennium development goals.

The Presidency will seek to strengthen the European Union's presence on the global stage. We will endeavour to develop the existing relationships with its closest partners by updating the European Neighbourhood Policy. Furthermore, the Presidency will work towards the consensual adoption of an annual enlargement conclusion in December. The meeting of ASEM foreign affairs ministers in November will be one of the highlights of the European foreign policy agenda.

This year, 2015, which has been declared European Year for Development, will also be a pivotal year to bolster the EU’s credibility by taking decisive action in the field of development co-operation and humanitarian aid.

The Presidency will host the closing ceremony in December and, therefore, has a responsibility to inform and raise awareness among European citizens. It is with these key priorities that the Luxembourg Presidency will commit itself to moving the European integration project forward so as to ensure that our Union will be better equipped to face the challenges of our time. The past few weeks gave us compelling examples of some of these challenges. The tragic loss of life in the Mediterranean and the recent events in Calais highlight the necessity for a European response to the thorny migration issue. The terrorist attacks perpetrated very recently, which hit Ireland cruelly as well, along with those carried out earlier in 2015, require a strong and united reaction.

Luxembourg is proud to be able to make its contribution to the European project. Together with our European partners, including Ireland which is deeply committed to European integration, we will endeavour to tackle all the challenges the EU as a whole has to face to maintain the spirit of the EU. We will endeavour to find constructive solutions to address the concerns and interests of all member states.

I thank the joint committee for giving me this opportunity to present the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency and I look forward to further good collaboration and questions from members. We are prepared for a Presidency that will not be routine.