Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Pratt and Ms O'Connell. I attend EMI meetings whenever I can. I thank them for the work they do in providing information to Oireachtas Members and the public regarding activities and developments in the EU generally. The EMI's publication, Just the Facts, is useful for parliamentarians. It is an excellent two-page sheet which condenses all the issues of the day.

We are very much in the process of having the debate on the future of Europe in Ireland. The President of the European Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, recently made a state of the Union address and the President of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, made a speech last week. There was a great deal of food for thought in the president's speech, some of which was good but some of which we would have concerns about. One of the positive proposals he mentioned was halving the size of the Commission, which would be popular but, as Deputy Cullinane said, Ireland will be concerned about the corporate tax harmonisation proposals, deeper integration as regards defence and so on. At one of end of spectrum, people think that the EU is a partnership of member states while, at the other, people think there is a federal super state. As politicians, we have to find out where the public is at. I urge a note of caution in that regard in respect of treaty change, deeper integration, and heading towards a federal super state. The Irish people will not go there and, therefore, we need to establish where we are at. Any treaty change arising out of this process will have to be clearly thought out, clearly desirable and clearly put before the people in a referendum. We have to be at centre of, and have an input, into the debate. The Franco-German alliance has been re-established and all of us are looking on as both countries put forward proposals. We want to be part of the debate, which is under way. I note the urgency the EMI has injected into this, which we will take on board. Has the EMI a view on the five options, for example? Has it canvassed its own members on that? Where are they at in this regard? EMI members are committed Europeans and perhaps they favour more integration. Will Mr. Pratt clarify where the organisation as a whole stands in that regard?