Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept fully what Senator Wilson said. He is correct in terms of the territory, and it is about 10% of the population. That does not matter; parts of it are occupied.

I would like to say, in response to the point Senator O'Reilly made, that I am in favour of enlargement.

I fully accept what he is saying. He is correct in terms of the territory and 10% of the population. That does not matter. Parts of it are occupied. By the way, I am in favour of enlargement. I am passionate about it. As Taoiseach at the Council I was an early advocate of Ukraine joining the European Union. The western Balkans should have been accelerated a long time ago, in my view. What happened in North Macedonia and Albania was, in my view, an undue delay. I think we would have a much stronger position in the western Balkans today had there been enlargement sooner. That means there will be implications for how we govern the European Union into the future. There will be give and take in terms of the current governance structures around Europe. That is my general view. However, if we do not look after the neighbourhood others will meddle in the neighbourhood and create mayhem. That has now happened to a certain extent in the western Balkans and some other areas. We are very concerned about the declining health of Mikheil Saakashvili. He is a former President of Georgia. We believe it is the responsibility of the Georgian Government to ensure the health of all detainees, to provide adequate medical treatment and to respect their fundamental rights. EU member states agreed that the EU ambassador in Tbilisi would deliver a joint démarcheto the justice minister raising concerns about Mr. Saakashvili's condition. That démarchetook place yesterday, 27 February. That is an issue, and in the broader issue of reforms, the situation with Mr. Saakashvili is not giving confidence to the European community.