Neale Richmond (Fine Gael)
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I thank the ambassador for his very thorough presentation and I particularly enjoyed his closing remarks relating to Brexit. I wish Bulgaria the best of luck with its first Presidency of the Council of the European Union. I worked on the 2013 Irish Presidency and it was definitely a very rewarding part of my professional career before I entered politics full-time. I know how important it can be for a host country and it is a great opportunity for all our Ministers to visit Bulgaria over the coming months. I hope to join our delegation to the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union, COSAC, meeting in due course. As the Chairman outlined, I know the Taoiseach really enjoyed his visit last week and got on very well with Prime Minister Borisov. There is much to build on there.

There are some key areas and I will start with what the ambassador finished with in Brexit. I fully appreciate the position of the rotating Presidency when it comes to the negotiations. We have moved to the phase two aspect negotiations and this is where there is a trade element and everything starts to move into the various sectoral parts, with direct responsibility to the wider European Council. It is important that all discussions in Bulgaria over the next six months would bear Brexit in mind. If we are starting to plan elements like the single digital market or Common Agricultural Policy planning, we should always reflect on what our relationship will be with the UK after 2019. It is very important for every member state and particularly Ireland that we ensure those discussions are future-proofed.

I will touch on three areas, based on the ambassador's remarks. The first relates to energy. I fully appreciate the matter of energy security and I stress its importance, as Ireland and Malta will be the only two member states that will not be connected to the continental European grid after 2019. All our connectivity is currently through the United Kingdom. We are working with our French counterparts to deliver the Celtic interconnector from Brittany to Cork. We have received quite a bit of support from the European Commission in terms of funding and with the planning authorities on both sides. However, this must be brought into the Council's discussion of energy security and policy. If the worst was to happen in ten or 15 years, all parts of the European Union should be connected to essential energy supplies.

The second area relates to accession and particularly the ambassador's remarks on the western Balkans. I have one question and one point to make. I am very much of the opinion that the relationship between candidate, accession or applicant countries with the European Union must be formalised. There must be a clear path to membership and it cannot be an unending possibility that is not obtainable to certain states. There is a clear example with the Turkish application to join the European body, which has been in the mixer for two decades now. It seems to have drifted so much that it is no longer necessarily something to which many in Turkey aspire. Domestic politics have taken a step backwards there in this regard. As Bulgaria is a very recent accession country, how does it feel the European Union can act better with respect to applicant and accession countries? How can it ensure the relationship would be formalised and not be a vague aspiration? It should have a material benefit. The countries that hope one day to join the European Union or have ever closer relationships should be able to benefit materially from the process. Rather than seeing benefit at the end of the road, staying the course as an applicant country should be worthwhile. We need to prove to all member states, in light of Brexit, that being part of the European Union is absolutely worthwhile. We need to redouble our efforts with applicant and accession countries to ensure that while membership in due course is really worthwhile, continuing along the accession process is equally worthwhile.

The final area relates to the debate on the future of Europe. Although it may have clashed with another of the ambassador's engagements this morning, we saw a major speech from the Taoiseach at the European Parliament in which he laid out his vision for the future of Europe. I suppose that was in response to French President Macron's slightly lengthier speech at the end of last year. It is part of a wider process. Senator Craughwell, the Chairman and I, along with others, attended the kick-off of the future of Europe events being hosted by the Irish Government in tandem with European Movement Ireland to get the discussion going among people. This involves quite a number of stakeholders and various European Commissioners will address them and examine the five key areas as outlined by President Juncker. They concern what is best for Ireland and what Ireland feels is best for the entire European Union, the 27 remaining member states. Is anything similar happening in Bulgaria? How much emphasis will the Bulgarian Presidency put on the debate around the future of Europe?