Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Before the Minister of State replies, I would like to echo something Senator McDowell said that was raised previously. I fully accept and understand the reason we are so proactive in supporting EU enlargement. It has been at the heart of much of our policy. In the context of what is happening in Ukraine and the way in which the EU is moving in relation to the outcomes of wanting enlargement for good, logical, strategic and political reasons, we still have to remember and be conscious, as a small state within the EU, of the importance of making sure that the process a state must go through to join the Union must put in place the absolute, solid underpinning values of the EU before accession. Unfortunately, and to be direct about it, we have seen that once a member state is within the EU and, shall we say, goes off the rails, it is very difficult to deal with anything within it. It could be a horrific future for the EU.

Some states are contemplating legislation on a level that would not have been seen as the norm in the past. With the type of thing that is happening in Georgia, if it were a member state, the EU would have the ability to deal with it within its own confines. That essential part of the underpinning of the values of the European Union prior to accession must be reinforced at every opportunity and not just let slip because of what is happening in Ukraine. I want to make that point to the Minister of State in the context of the Government's position.