Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I would like to begin on a positive note for a change. I welcome the European Council's decision to adopt an EU-wide drugs strategy for 2005 to 2012. This strategy has been described as a key instrument to confront drugs use and trafficking effectively with a view to ensuring a high level of health protection, well-being and social cohesion as well as a high level of security for the public. This balanced approach is laudable and is an area in which closer EU co-operation is valid and vital. I look forward to examining the three-year action plan which is to be presented for adoption at the European Council early this year. I urge the Government to schedule a Dáil debate on this critical area of public policy.

I congratulate Bulgaria and Romania for having concluded accession negotiations and I look forward to those countries becoming EU members in January 2007. I welcome their initiative and that of six of the new members states from eastern Europe which launched action plans as part of the decade of Roma inclusion. I urge the Government to join this initiative and commit to the eradication of anti-Roma and anti-Traveller racism and exclusion in Ireland.

The Council also agreed to open accession negotiations with Turkey and we support its accession in principle. We hope that Turkey will be in a position to join on time in 2015. However, its membership will ultimately be contingent on it ending the military occupation in Cyprus and the recognition of the Kurdish right to self-determination. Membership must also be subject to Turkey fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria, specifically durable and systematic change in its appalling human rights record. We agree that all EU accession negotiations should be subject to suspension in view of human rights violations and we accept this aspect of conditionality as recommended by the Commission. However, Turkey must be allowed to enter the EU on the same basis as all other states and there can be no second class citizenship within the EU. There should not be a referendum in other member states on Turkish membership. That includes Ireland. Once accepted, Turkish citizens must be allowed full freedom of movement on an equal basis with others.

We once again oppose the implementation of the Hague programme which advances the fortress Europe project. This is high on the Council's agenda. I have asked the Government in the past to debate this plan but so far, despite the State being committed to it, the Government has avoided holding a debate on the Hague programme.

I also note with concern the militarisation of the EU which continued at this Council meeting. It further endorsed development of the EU army as well as a work programme and a budget for the new European defence agency. As Deputy Gormley said, we support the strengthening of the UN peacekeeping and genocide prevention capacity but we do not support the outsourcing of such missions to EU battle groups. With due respect to the UN Secretary General, this development is the wrong direction for EU reform.

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