Dáil debates

Tuesday, 20 January 2004

European Presidency: Statements.

 

4:00 pm

Photo of Seán HaugheySeán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words as Ireland assumes the Presidency of the EU for the sixth and possibly final time. The next 12 months will be a momentous time for the European Union and Ireland will play a major role. It seems there is a sense of relief throughout Europe that the Presidency is being taken up by Ireland. Expectations of the Irish Presidency and the subsequent Dutch Presidency are high.

Irish Presidencies have in the past been efficient and effective. Our Government, diplomats and civil servants are respected throughout Europe and we continue to punch above our weight in international relations. The current President of the European Parliament is an Irishman, as is the President of the European Council.

The Presidency is very demanding for a small country. A great amount of planning has gone into this Presidency and we have a daunting programme of work ahead. More than 7,000 people, including Ministers, senior EU officials, Department officials, delegates, journalists and interpreters will fly into Ireland over the next six months. More than 100 different meetings have been arranged. This will be a great opportunity to show the new member states in particular what a small country can do. In the process we can showcase Ireland and its achievements. The theme of the Irish Presidency is Europeans — Working Together. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, said recently in reference to the task facing us, we will do it with a smile.

At the top of the Irish Presidency agenda must be the need for agreement on the new EU constitutional treaty. In his contribution, the Taoiseach has recognised this. I assume our Presidency was planned on the basis that the treaty would be agreed at the Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels last year. The collapse of the negotiations was a disappointment for all concerned. The need to make progress on this treaty is a major challenge for the Irish Presidency. The Taoiseach must try to reconcile the diametrically opposed positions of some of the major powers in the European Union. He must try to achieve compromise and do everything possible to break the current impasse. I have no doubt that the Taoiseach will work extremely hard in conjunction with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs to achieve a consensus. He certainly has the skills to do this.

The Taoiseach has said that he will consult widely and report back at the March summit. Progress, however, may be difficult to achieve during our Presidency, and the Taoiseach has stated this in various interviews. He has highlighted that the Spanish elections are due to take place, the incapacitation of the Polish Prime Minister following a serious accident and that the European Parliament elections are scheduled to take place in June. All these pose challenges and difficulties. The stand-off in relation to voting strength by Spain, Poland, Germany and other countries at the Council of Ministers will not be easily resolved. Other issues too may have to be opened up in the negotiations, issues such as taxation, defence, justice and the right of each country to an EU Commissioner. These could cause problems for Ireland. I have no doubt that Ireland will put the interests of the European Union first in its role as President but will also do everything possible to ensure that the final agreement is of benefit to us in our endeavours.

I would welcome a response to calls from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions that Ireland drop its opposition to tax harmonisation. Congress has put forward the view that new member states will undercut our 12.5% corporation tax rate. What is the Government's view on that?

Against the background of all this are the remarks by the President of the European Commission, Mr. Romano Prodi, on the inevitability of a two-speed Europe, which is favoured by France and Germany, if agreement is not reached. Some countries will want to press ahead with integration. I suggest, however, that the new member states, and Ireland as a smaller state, are very much attached to the notion of national sovereignty and are not supportive of further integration at this time, or in favour of a two-speed Europe with some states pressing ahead and leaving other states behind. All this represents a great challenge for the European Union at this time.

The Irish Presidency must make some progress on the treaty negotiations and do everything possible to try to reach agreement and complete the treaty negotiations as soon as possible. Failure to do this will put the future of the European Union itself at stake. We cannot risk a stalemate. I wish the Taoiseach and his Ministers well in their endeavours in this regard.

I put on record my support for the Convention on the Future of Europe and for the delegates, particularly the Irish delegates, at the convention. They did a tremendous job and prepared the ground for the Intergovernmental Conference. The contribution they have made should be recognised here in this House.

Enlargement will be a major part of our Presidency. Ireland will oversee the accession of ten new member states: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. It will be an historic occasion because it will mark the end of the division of Europe. A defining date will be in the history of Europe will be 1 May next. I welcome the fact that major ceremonies are planned for Dublin and other places in this country on that date. It will be a day of welcomes. There will be concerts, fireworks and street parties and twinning arrangements will be highlighted.

While the celebrations are important, some of the problems associated with enlargement will have to be dealt with. New relations will have to be developed and outstanding problems will have to be resolved during our Presidency. The European Union will have a population of 450 million after this enlargement. By any measure, this is extremely significant and historic. I would also like to wish the Irish Presidency well in its endeavours to advance the membership applications of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. I welcome the Taoiseach's comments on this matter earlier this afternoon.

There has been a great deal of comment about giving new impetus to the Lisbon agenda which aims to improve the economic competitiveness of the EU. It is intended to make the Union the most dynamic and competitive economy in the world by 2010. Associated matters include making structural reforms, investing in education, training and physical infrastructure, improving competitiveness, developing and advancing environmentally positive technologies and improving our performance in research and development. It is a sizeable agenda. The citizens of Ireland and Europe will relate to the agenda as something concrete and positive because it relates to providing employment. The Irish Presidency will do well if it can inject a new momentum and a new impetus into sustainable growth and progressing the Lisbon agenda which was first agreed in 2000.

In a recent speech, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, suggested that the Lisbon strategy has already brought benefits to the people of Ireland and the people of the European Union. Such benefits include cheaper air travel, gas and electricity prices and more jobs. Citizens expect the European Union to be involved in such matters. The question of economics was to the front of people's minds when Ireland agreed to join the then European Economic Community over 30 years ago. The Lisbon agenda relates to economics, as well as to the concerns of the people.

The Irish Presidency intends to concentrate on many other objectives in the next six months. It is obvious that the question of developing closer relations with the United States of America is among its priorities. It will be a difficult task, as the Iraq war brought about many splits. Divisions emerged between the US and Europe, between the UK and the Franco-German axis and between present and future member states. It is surprising that the common security and defence policy survived this conflict. Other differences between the EU and the US relate to the steel tariff, the International Criminal Court, the Kyoto Protocol, etc. A great deal of work remains to be done if relations between the EU and the US are to be improved. I suggest that Ireland's history and present circumstances mean that it is in a unique position to broker agreement on many of these issues, however. We are close to Berlin and Boston. We can advance this objective during our Presidency.

I welcome the fact that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Taoiseach are committed to promoting African issues on the EU agenda. They are keen to do something to address the HIV pandemic on that continent. As the Minister, Deputy Cowen, pointed out in The Irish Times on 19 December last:

There are 291 million people living below the poverty line in sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 28 million are infected with HIV/AIDS.

This serious matter needs to be dealt with and given more priority by the western world. The Minister for Foreign Affairs also highlighted the centrality of the United Nations in world affairs in the newspaper article to which I have referred. He said that multilateral diplomacy is a priority for him and for the Irish Presidency. I fully support him in that regard. He should highlight this matter as part of the process of restoring relations between the EU and the USA.

I would like to highlight some minor matters before I allow my colleague, Deputy Mulcahy, to speak. I welcome the logo which is being used as part of the Irish Presidency. I welcome the fact that the schoolchildren of Ireland played a role in selecting it. The symbol conveys a message and adequately reflects the Ireland of 2004 and our state of mind at this time. It is an excellent logo. I wish also to speak on the subsidiary issue of sponsorship. I do not think anybody in this House has criticised the role of sponsorship in the Irish Presidency.

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