Mr. Gerry Liston:

There is one important point to mention first which is that, as a matter of international law a state cannot outsource its compliance with international law to an international organisation. Even if, by EU law, Ireland cannot comply with its obligation that is still a breach of customary international law.

To come to the Deputy's point about empowerment, what Mr. Smyth said yesterday was that there is a provision in the imports regulation which says that states can prohibit imports of goods from third countries on grounds of public policy. What the language of that article actually states is that nothing in the article shall "preclude" states from adopting restrictions on imports on grounds of public policy. The language "shall not preclude" presupposes there is a pre-existing entitlement as a matter of public policy to depart from what is otherwise an external competence. Public policy is not something that just exists in relation to goods; it is a concept that cuts across many aspects of EU law including the freedom to provide services and the free movement of capital and various things such as that. What the experts will say next week is that the basis is there. It is not as explicit as in the imports regulation but it is there as a cross-cutting principle within EU law.