Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for allowing me to contribute. When I was out of the room I followed the debate with interest.

I have one suggestion on which I would love to hear the thoughts of the delegation. There is a danger in considering Junker's five scenarios as our frame because we would lose focus on what actually needs to happen in Europe. Much of his focus and the focus of his scenarios is about the speed of Europe, is it going to be multi-speed, etc. and it is not about the direction of Europe. There are options that are not about simply carrying on or where we pool the new or centralise decision-making further, they are about doing things somewhat differently from how we do them at the moment. We must ensure that Ireland takes very seriously the role it has to play in every arena we have at the moment, for example, the European Council and the Council of Ministers. Ireland should not simply attend and see what is on the agenda. We should debate what Ireland brings to the agenda of the Council of Ministers and demanding to be on the council. In terms of the European Commission, to what extent are we waiting for edicts to be produced? Are we pressing the European Commission? A very important point is coming up now whereby the European Commission will need to seek a new trade negotiation mandate for phase 2 of Brexit. Are we going to have public discussion on what should go into that trade negotiating mandate or will we wait until after the fact and then complain that we do not like the mandate? There are key spaces that need to be activated now. The "for or against" Europe discussion has an inherent danger because it is not that at all; it is about Europe.

I have a serious concern about a key role on which I would love to hear the comments of the delegation. I refer to the narrative on defence and the suggestion, for example, that to be with Europe one must be uniformly onboard with the idea of what Macron has now proposed in terms of defence. Ireland has a key history in peacebuilding. It is an asset to Europe to have a country that has international credibility in peacebuilding. I ask the delegation to comment on why Europe needs to widen its skills, especially in terms of the securitisation agenda, and start delivering in areas such as peacebuilding and diplomacy, which are almost at the origin of the European project. Have peacebuilding and diplomacy fallen by the wayside? As we have seen in Catalonia and elsewhere, Europe seems to have washed its hands of those jobs.