Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 5 July 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs

European Agenda Developments: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

2:00 pm

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and members for their well wishes. I agree it is important we have a strong relationship and that there is strong engagement between us. I am at the disposal of the Chairman and members should they need me at the committee. I am delighted to be here today, the first time I have had the pleasure of being before this committee since I was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs two weeks ago. I was honoured to be asked to take on this important job at a time when Ireland’s place in the European Union is centre stage.

Ireland’s future prosperity is best served by our membership of the European Union. Brexit only serves to underline that our membership of the Single Market and customs union are the cornerstones of our economic success. We are all too well aware of the disruption and negative impact that Brexit may have on key sectors of our economy, in particular agriculture, agrifood and the drinks industry, but that does not in any way weaken the case for our remaining committed members of the European Union – quite the contrary.

Chairman, I look forward to working with you and members of the committee to deepen our national and parliamentary dialogue on the full EU agenda. National parliaments and committees on European affairs play a vital role in EU policy formulation and implementation and in ensuring that the EU improves its engagement with all our citizens. I assure the Chairman and members of my openness to working with the committee in the period ahead.

In the time available today I would like to touch on three issues: the outcome of last month’s European Council meeting; the unfolding debate on the future of Europe, a topic that is of particular interest to the committee; and the incoming Estonian EU Presidency, and I welcome Her Excellency, Mrs. Kristi Karelsohn, Ambassador of Estonia to the meeting.

One of my first official engagements following my appointment as Minister with responsibility for European Affairs was to accompany the Taoiseach to the June European Council. Items on the agenda included security and defence; migration; jobs, growth and competitiveness; external relations; the Paris Agreement on climate change; and Digital Europe. The Taoiseach has already made a comprehensive statement to the Dáil so I do not propose to go into great detail on it now, however, I will touch on a few key issues.

On Brexit, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier updated the European Council on Article 50 format - that is, the 27 member states minus the UK - on the recent opening of formal negotiations with the UK which took place just over two weeks ago, which were seen as generally positive and constructive. In line with the EU guidelines, the Irish-specific concerns - protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the gains of the peace process; avoiding a hard Border through imaginative and flexible solutions; and maintaining the common travel area – will be prioritised in the first phase of the negotiations, before we move to discussions about the shape of the future relationship.

In respect of jobs, growth and competitiveness, the European Council considered a range of economic issues. The President of the ECB, Mario Draghi, gave a generally positive presentation about the EU and eurozone economies.

There was a discussion of the Single Market and trade policy. Members will be aware that Ireland has a high level of ambition for the Single Market, in particular with regard to cross-border trade in services and in advance of the European Council we worked with like-minded partners to ensure that a specific reference to services was included in the Council conclusions. We strongly support the priority the incoming Estonian Presidency has attached to Digital Europe.

On trade, the Taoiseach stressed our support for a robust, free trade policy, upholding an open and rules based multilateral trading system.

The discussions on security and defence covered both the internal and external aspects. Discussions covered efforts to tackle the spread of radicalism online and its financing. The challenges inherent in tackling terrorist communications, while at the same time safeguarding privacy, were acknowledged.

On the external dimension, the High Representative, Ms Federica Mogherini, briefed on the implementation of the EU global strategy one year after its adoption. Ireland strongly supports the strategy, and we have emphasised the need for the comprehensive implementation of all five of its priorities, which is important if all member states are to contribute and play an active part. Using the Union’s unique mix of diplomatic, civilian and peace-keeping capabilities will help protect our citizens, and contribute to peace and security in our neighbourhood and beyond.

The strategy also provides the framework for EU co-operation with NATO, focused on peace-keeping and maintaining international peace and security. Ireland’s neutrality is, of course, fully respected, and has not been brought into question and we do not participate in any military alliance. However, we favour initiatives to strengthen the EU’s capacity to act as an international peace provider, in particular in support of the United Nations. We also support co-operation within the Union to achieve common objectives in response to the range of new and growing threats. We have all witnessed them in the past number of weeks and months.

While there have been some positive developments on migration, in particular a significant decline in activity along the eastern Mediterranean route, the situation remains critical in terms of irregular visits and arrivals through the central Mediterranean. The Council agreed to improve co-ordination efforts in this respect, provide more support for Italy and try to end the tragic situation where so many people are unfortunately losing their lives.

Ireland has consistently called for a comprehensive response to the migration crisis that addresses its effects as well as its underlying root causes. We have agreed to take up to 4,000 asylum seekers, including 200 minors, and refugees, provide naval vessels to help with search operations - since May 2015, seven of our vessels have saved almost 17,000 migrants - and supply humanitarian assistance to those affected by the Syrian crisis. To date, we have provided more than €78 million for that.

On the external relations items on the agenda, the Council expressed regret at President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change. On sanctions against Russia, the Council decided that Russia's ongoing actions in eastern Ukraine left little choice but to renew the restrictive measures for a further six months. This is a decision that Ireland has fully supported. Leaders discussed relations with Turkey, with concerns being expressed about its human rights situation. The President of Cyprus updated the European Council on the ongoing UN-sponsored talks between the two communities on the island.

I will turn to the debate on the future of Europe, a matter on which this committee is actively engaged. On 1 March, the European Commission published the White Paper on the Future of Europe. As well as setting out the main achievements of the EU over the past six decades, the White Paper addresses the challenges that Europe is facing and presents five scenarios for how the Union could evolve by 2025, depending on how we choose to respond. The Commission has since published five accompanying reflection papers on a range of diverse topics that will also contribute to the Europe-wide discussions that the White Paper seeks to initiate.

The Government has welcomed the paper. It contains much valuable food for thought about the international context as it is now and may develop over the coming decades and sets out a number of scenarios for how the EU might evolve and develop in the period ahead. The White Paper takes an open and non-prescriptive approach and is presented as an initial contribution to a Europe-wide discussion and debate. This open, inclusive and transparent approach is welcome and is in keeping with the need to renew the EU's contract with its citizens.

The European Commission will lead a public engagement strategy to discuss and debate the future of Europe in all member states. I understand that the head of the Commission representation in Ireland, Mr. Gerry Kiely, appeared before this committee last month to facilitate an initial exchange with members on the White Paper. I would be interested to hear from members what themes emerged from that discussion and what discussions they had subsequently. I understand that the committee is planning a call for public submissions on the future of Europe for later this month. National parliaments play an important role in debating the future of Europe and the Oireachtas should facilitate and encourage as wide-ranging a debate as possible on this matter of national importance. The Joint Committee on European Union Affairs is best placed to take a lead role in this regard and I am happy to encourage that lead.

Ideally, the debate should be followed in the autumn by a wider Government-led consultation process, with the outcome of the process that the committee has launched making an important contribution to the Government's consideration. The consultation process should be as inclusive as possible and involve all interested parties, including social partners, business partners, the voluntary sector, academics and members of the general public. It is important that the debate engage the public to the greatest extent possible. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is examining a number of options for facilitating and encouraging that wider debate. I hope that we can work together to further that aim.

I welcome the new Estonian Presidency of the Council, which has just begun. The ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Mrs. Kristi Karelsohn, is present and will address the committee shortly on her country's priorities. Ireland welcomes the priorities identified by Estonia, given their emphasis on preserving our shared values of prosperity, security, peace and stability in Europe. In particular, we welcome the focus on a digital Europe and Estonia's intention of holding a summit meeting in Tallinn on 29 September to discuss Europe's digital future. I understand that the Taoiseach will be attending that. We wish the Estonian Presidency well for its upcoming six months.

Some of our Seanad colleagues have been working on a paper on Brexit. I thank them for their work and look forward to engaging with them next week during the Seanad debate.

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to address the committee and I look forward to working with members on promoting Ireland's place in the EU.

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