Ms Noelle O'Connell:

A Chathaoirligh agus a bhaill coiste, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh as an gcuireadh labhairt libh inniu ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo ar thodchaí na hEorpa- ábhar fíorthábhachtach dúinn in Éirinn sa lá atá inniu ann. Is mór againn i nGluaiseacht na hEorpa in Éirinn a bheith mar chuid den chomhrá seo. My name is Noelle O'Connell. I am the executive director of European Movement Ireland. We are very grateful to the Chairman and the distinguished members of the committee for the invitation to input into this important and timely future of Europe debate. I will now go through the five scenarios presented in the European Commission's White Paper on the future of Europe and throw out some topics for discussion.

As members know, on 1 March 2017, the European Commission presented a White Paper to open up debate on the future of the European Union. It initiated this process against the backdrop of increasing challenges from the rise of populism, globalisation, new technologies and security concerns, as well as Brexit. The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, presented his vision for the future of Europe in his state of the Union address last month, in which he outlined three values that he believes should anchor the EU. Those values are that Europe is a Union of freedom and equality, underpinned by the strength of EU law. He referred to this as his "sixth scenario" for his vision for the future of Europe.

In terms of the next stages in the process, conclusions on the future of Europe will be drawn at the European Council summit in December 2017 and a course of action will be presented prior to the upcoming European Parliament elections in 2019. The first thing to say about the five scenarios is that they are not mutually exclusive. There is overlap between the options and the White Paper was intended to drive the debate rather than confine it. Having said that, let us consider the scenarios in the order they are listed in the paper. The first is entitled "Carrying On".Under this scenario, the EU 27 would continue to focus on implementing policies and reform agenda by collectively settling on long-term priorities. There may be positives in maintaining the status quo, given that EU membership has served us incredibly well. Indeed, 87% of people polled in our Red C survey this year thought that taking everything into consideration, Ireland has on balance, benefitted from being a member of the EU. However, it also risks ignoring the underlying problems Brexit and the refugee crisis, for example, have brought into sharper light. The problem of the disconnect that exists between citizens and the EU decision-making bodies and processes was clearly underlined by the Brexit vote. How much these issues could be addressed if the carrying on option was pursued is questionable.

In the second scenario, entitled "Nothing but the Single Market", the EU 27 would be re-centred on the Single Market and move away from co-operation on policy in areas such as migration, security and defence. It would, in effect, be a return to the days of the European Economic Community, EEC, whereby attention is focused on the functioning and operating of the internal market with foreign policy becoming increasingly bilateral in nature. We must question whether a return to such a purely economic relationship with our European neighbours and partners would be in our best interests, particularly given that Ireland has recently become a net contributor to the EU budget. After all, it is far more than just economic attractiveness which Ireland gains from membership of the European Union. As the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Helen McEntee, recently said, the EU is much bigger than the sum of its parts and membership is not a zero-sum game. EU membership elevates Ireland's political clout on the world stage. Membership allows small states to amplify their interests in Europe and onto the international playing field. Many of the challenges we face in the twenty first century are global in nature and do not respect borders. As an outward looking nation, we are best served to meet these challenges through continued co-operation, engagement and influencing solutions as part of a reforming EU.

Under the third scenario, entitled "Those Who Want More Do More", the EU 27 would allow coalitions of the willing to act together in specific policy areas. Member states have the continuous option of joining those coalitions. This scenario is often termed "multi-speed Europe" and, in many respects, it is a scenario that is already occurring. For example, 19 of the current 28 member states have adopted the euro as their common currency with economic policy integration. Most EU member states are in the Schengen area, allowing citizens to cross borders without being subjected to immigration controls; however, some including us, are not. In practice, if not officially, a multi-speed Europe is already a reality. Following the European Commission’s publication of the White Paper, EU leaders committed in the Rome declaration in March 2017 to acting together "at different paces and intensity where necessary, while moving in the same direction, as we have done in the past, in line with the Treaties and keeping the door open to those who want to join later". This implies that a multi-speed Europe may well continue to be a reality. In Ireland we need to think about how to ensure that we are not left behind. We also need to think about diversifying and intensifying our existing alliances across Europe, both politically, on a policy-by-policy basis and economically in terms of our trading relationships, especially in the context of our nearest neighbour’s decision to leave the EU. In the area of the digital Single Market, for example, we could look to intensify our co-operation with the "Digital 9" group of member states, which includes the Baltic states. Estonia’s current Presidency of the Council of the EU has shown the potential of co-operation in the area of data hubs, for example.

Under the fourth scenario, "Doing Less More Efficiently", the EU 27 would decide to focus their limited attention and resources on a reduced number of areas, choosing new priorities to allow the Union to act more quickly and decisively in these areas. Again, like scenario three, in some respects this already operates in practice. The current European Commission has sought to be big on the big issues and small on the small ones. Under the Juncker Commission, the number of new initiatives being put forward each year has been reduced from more than 100 to less than 25 and those initiatives are grouped around ten key political priorities.

In the fifth scenario, entitled "Doing Much More Together", the EU 27 would decide to pool more of their power and resources and centralise their decision making. This would involve closer co-operation in areas such as defence and security, economic and monetary union as well as foreign policy, such as a unified migration policy. It is by far the most ambitious scenario outlined in the White Paper and offers solutions to some of the structural problems the Union currently faces. However, it may also be regarded by some as going too far. It is vital that, as a nation, we consider and put forward arguments as to how much we want Europe to do, what we are comfortable with and what we are not. We have a limited window of opportunity to input into this critically important and moving process. First conclusions will be drawn at the European Council summit in December, so it is vitally important that we grasp this opportunity to have our say. President Juncker has emphasised the need for the EU to “catch the wind in our sails” and we, as a nation, cannot afford to miss the boat on this debate.

EM Ireland welcomes the ongoing work and commitment by the Government to furthering and facilitating this vital debate. We look forward to playing our part and engaging with both the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Simon Coveney and the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee on these issues.