John Bruton (Meath, Fine Gael)

I endorse Deputy Kenny's contribution. I refer to terrorism. It is important to recognise that comprehensive EU legislation is needed to address cross-border crime. That will not happen if the unanimous agreement of all 25 member states is required. I studied the proposals put forward by the Italian Presidency as a compromise prior to the Brussels summit. A so-called emergency brake was suggested whereby if a country says legislation is affecting the fundamentals of its legal system, it can take the matter to the European Council where there must be unanimity. In other words, a veto is provided for in the Italian compromise. If we are serious about combating terrorism, cross-border crime must be combated because terrorism is a manifestation of cross-border crime. Virtually all terrorism is cross-border. The idea that Europe will require unanimity for anti-crime and anti-terrorist legislation in the Single Market makes no sense. It is not right that we should create a Single Market for crime. We need a single approach to crime and the elements in the Irish and British Governments that are resisting majority voting on crime have to be faced down if we are serious about this matter. The delay in bringing the European arrest warrant into being illustrates how unanimity and the present approach does not work. We have had to have a second atrocity. We had the atrocity on 11 September 2001 to get them to launch the European arrest warrant, now the atrocity of 11 March 2004 will get them to put it into effect. If majority voting existed, one would not need to have those sorts of incentives.

There is a saying in business that one should stick to the knitting, in other words, stick to one's job. I think the Lisbon process is an example of the European Union wandering off into the functional area of member states. Most of the material in the Lisbon Agenda are not matters for the European Union but for member states. The idea that the time of the heads of government, who have a great deal of European Union business to do should be taken up tut-tutting at one another for their failure to do things in domestic policy, which it makes absolute sense to do is ludicrous. If countries are too stupid to do it, it is their own fault. Why should one of the two councils per Presidency be taken up with the Lisbon process? I do not know. It originated during the Luxembourg Presidency of 1997. I was at the Council when this idea was launched, of having an employment summit during every presidency. It is only window dressing and is all for show. There is not anything really happening that would not be happening anyway. Most items in the Lisbon Agenda are just common sense. The OECD is producing reports which deals with these points. Why do we need the European Union to get involved as well? It does not make sense. If the European Union dealt with the items on its own agenda within its own competence and passed the legislation it needs to pass and if the heads of government concentrated on that, they would be doing a good job rather than lecturing each other on pension reform. Anybody who does not know that pension reform is necessary in many of these European countries is not numerate. However, they are numerate, they just lack political courage. Having a meeting in Dublin or another meeting next year about this will not make the Italian government have more political courage than it has. One either has it or not, as far as implementing this is concerned. Personally, I think the Lisbon process should be scrapped. It is a waste of time. Perhaps I say so in an attempt to stimulate some discussion, but I am serious about what I am saying.

The Western Balkans presents the biggest worry. If Kosovo explodes, one cannot look to the American troops to sort it out. The American army is now over-stretched in Iraq and in Afghanistan. If a peace making force has to go into Kosovo to stop a civil war, it will be European and not American troops, with European logistics, tanks, aircraft and lives being put at risk to make this happen. I do not think a serious enough effort is being made to deal with European defence. I know that Fianna Fáil has its problems about this matter, dating back to the times of the then former Minister, Deputy Raphael Burke and his promises.

We should stop agonising about European defence and get on with it. It is not the case that the Spanish people were bombed into voting its government out of office by Al Qaeda, but the bomb brought out voters who would otherwise have stayed at home. There is a risk that will be repeated and that elections in Europe will be targeted by terrorists, which is a very serious matter.

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