Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Deputy Smith asked about countries' candidate status and the likely period before accession. At this stage it is pretty certain that Croatia will join the EU on 1 July. There were some legacy issues that had to be resolved before the ratification could take place in the Slovenian Parliament. That has happened. I am pleased to say we were able to play a constructive role as Presidency in ensuring that. There are no likely difficulties with ratification.

One cannot put a time limit on accession. A country will only receive a date for accession after it has gone through the entire negotiating process. Quite frankly, the accession process is more complicated and demanding of potential member states than it was in the past. That is no bad thing. We can look on it as a positive in terms of the credibility of the process. Of course, the candidate countries can find it frustrating but I think they recognise and understand that we must get it right. I cannot put a timeframe on the accession of Turkey, Iceland, Serbia and other potential candidate countries. The negotiations will go at their own pace. Often it is up to the candidate countries in terms of how quickly they wish to embrace the reform process. As I noted in my introductory remarks, the Croatian process took ten years. It is not a quick process. With the additional burdens associated with the negotiation process, it will take some time for any of the countries I have mentioned.

I mentioned that Croatia has already held the elections for the 12 seats in the EU Parliament. In light of the cap on the number of seats in the EU Parliament, which is set at 751 seats, it means that some countries will lose a seat. At present the proposal from the European Parliament - and this was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Parliament both in plenary and committee - is that Ireland, along with a number of other countries would have their number of seats reduced by one. It is likely to be finally decided upon by the European Council, but that is the likely outcome. It is our expectation. It is highly unlikely that the Council would overturn a very strongly endorsed recommendation of the Parliament as this is ultimately a question of the composition of and future of the Parliament in light of the various restrictions that apply on foot of the Lisbon treaty.

On the question of the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, a point also raised by Deputy Crowe in the context of the neighbouring countries, the humanitarian effort is not simply focused on Syria and is focused instead on all of the neighbouring regions. When the Tánaiste was in Turkey, he visited some of the camps in the bordering region and, unfortunately, those camps are in a number of neighbouring countries. The situation is quiet dire. The EU is playing a significant role in providing education, shelter and food for all of the affected refuges, particularly children. There have been challenges in terms of accessibility, in particular within the borders of Syria, but those are being overcome. There is a major effort being led by the European Union, supported by all of the member states and other international actors. That is a major priority at present.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan raised the Arab spring and the question of women's rights. When we talk about human rights and fundamental freedoms and the sort of democratic changes that we are seeing in the Arab spring countries, the very heart of the issue is equality and women's rights and all the rights and freedoms that we expect and enjoy in the democratic free world. It is at the core of our discussions, negotiations and all our bilateral contacts with all of the Arab spring countries. It is a very firm focus. I suppose the fact that the High Representative for the European Union and Vice President of the Commission, Catherine Ashton, is a woman is an important matter and it sends a very strong signal in terms of who is representing us. I think it is very positive.

In terms of Turkey, there have been significant improvements in terms of relations with the Kurdish minority and the PKK. The ceasefire has been widely welcomed across the European Union and beyond. This helps to strengthen and improve relations with Turkey. There is a long way to go but it is very brave and courageous step on both sides and it is very important.

There are other reforms that are happening and need to continue. We need to see momentum, whether it is freedom of press, freedom of expression and association or whatever. There are major challenges but we have seen positive developments and I expect that will continue.

The issue of Bosnia-Herzegovina is frequently raised in this committee. I know that a range of interesting and expert speakers from the region and people who have expertise in the region have come to speak at this committee. I visited there last summer, and at that time, we had reasonably high hopes because the high level dialogue was under way and was beginning to show some concrete results. There was a clear timeline in place. Unfortunately, the nature of the political situation and the local elections interfered with some of the progress we expected to see. As I said in my opening remarks, Bosnia-Herzegovina has fallen behind in the implementation of the roadmap that has been agreed.

That is a result of differences among the various political parties, etc. We must keep pushing in this regard.

I am a firm believer in the transformative and positive impact of the enlargement process on countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina. The latter is some way from being granted candidate status but it can and will be positively impacted upon by the transformation that is happening in the region. I refer here to Croatia joining the Union this year and to the fact that there will be positive signals in respect of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, FYROM, in the very near future. We hope that Serbia is going to enter into negotiations and that matters will move forward in the context of the association and stabilisation agreement relating to Kosovo. All of this contributes. The western Balkans is a fragile region but it has a great future in front of it and there is much hope for it. The emphasis of moving towards EU accession in the context of reform, improvements to democracy, building institutions and enforcing the rule of law will have a positive effect on Bosnia-Herzegovina. There is no question of removing the focus from that country. Rather, it is a case of engaging even more intensively and of ensuring that the roadmap is followed and that further progress is made.

On the point relating to free trade agreements, I participated - on behalf of the Presidency - in some debates on the situation in this regard prior to the very tragic events in Bangladesh. As everyone is aware, there have been other such occurrences in recent months. These are often caused by poor physical and environmental working conditions in what are often substandard buildings. This is a matter which the European Commission takes very seriously and of which it is taking cognisance in the context of the free trade arrangements that are being agreed with many of the countries involved. Account must also be taken of the existence of corporate social responsibility. This is an extremely difficult challenge, particularly as western countries and consumers are benefiting from the extremely cheap goods being produced in many of the countries in question. The companies responsible for producing such goods must apply certain standards and we, as consumers, must demand that they are applied. In addition, the International Labour Organization, ILO, has a very important role to play in the context of making demands, monitoring and inspecting operations and ensuring that commitments are fulfilled. A number of elements are at play here, one of which relates to the conditions built into free trade arrangements by the EU. However, other major players in the western hemisphere must also demand better and higher standards. A multi-pronged approach is required but I am certainly of the view that the EU must take the lead. We are leading on it but perhaps we need to do more. I am sure this matter will be the subject of further discussion at future meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council and in the European Parliament. This matter is currently in sharp focus and it is my opinion that the Irish Government is in a position to demonstrate leadership. We will certainly continue with our efforts in this regard.

A number of blockages exist in the context of Turkish accession to the EU. I referred earlier to some of the human rights concerns. Obviously, a number of bilateral issues in respect of certain member states also arise. Those issues are extremely important. On a number of occasions I have voiced my disappointment with regard to the stance adopted by the Government of Turkey during the Cyprus Presidency and the fact that a decision was taken not to recognise certain statements, etc., from the EU. We are moving beyond that now and we want relations with Cyprus to improve. A window of opportunity has been created by the French Government's removal of its reservations in respect of certain chapters. We hope, therefore, that we will be able to open a negotiating chapter by the end of the Irish Presidency. All going well in the coming weeks, we are on track to achieve this. The working group relating to this matter, which is chaired by the Irish Presidency, is involved in intensive deliberations in respect of it. I am confident that we are on course to break the deadlock which has obtained for a number of years.

The final matter raised relates to the challenges which exist for some of the new member states. There is no doubt that challenges exist within the European Union, and not just bordering regions, in the context of organised crime. Organised crime is a problem in Ireland, Bulgaria and every member state in between. Concerns with regard to the rule of law, organised crime, corruption and so on inform our new approach to enlargement. This approach involves dealing with these difficult negotiating chapters from the very beginning of the process rather than leaving them until the end. They are pursued from the outset and they are linked to the development of other chapters. This is a positive development and it means that we will be in a position to deal with the significant challenges that exist in terms of the rule of law, the freedom of judiciaries, stamping out corruption and so forth at an early stage in the accession process. The candidate countries, as well as existing member states, are embracing what is being done in this regard.

I will not comment on one or two particular member states. We all face challenges. In the context of the member states which acceded most recently, namely, Romania and Bulgaria, the co-operation and verification mechanism, CVM - a post-accession monitoring process - applies. I am of the view that this is a bad mechanism and that it does not represent the optimum way in which to proceed. When candidate countries become EU member states, then they should be treated like all other member states. Monitoring and implementation should be carried out before accession. It is not really credible to carry them out afterwards. I am very much in favour of the so-called new approach because it allows us to tackle the concerns and challenges which exist and ensure that the relevant reforms are introduced prior to accession. This means that every member state will be treated equally and fairly. I am of the view that this is preferable to trying to deal with matters after the fact.