Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I attended the spring meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, 8 and 9 March. I was accompanied at the meeting by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen.

This European Council meeting, at which we agreed ambitious but achievable targets on energy and climate change, will be remembered as pivotal in the development of the European Union. That we were able to craft these ambitious targets in the enlarged Union shows once again that it can make a pivotal difference to the key issues and challenges facing its citizens. During the meeting, I noted briefly in Irish that this meeting was the first European Council since Irish was introduced as an official working language of the European Union. This will stand as one of the major achievements of Ireland in Europe.

At the dinner of Heads of State or Government on the Thursday night, Chancellor Merkel outlined her plans for the Berlin declaration which is to be made on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome this coming Sunday. This will mark a major milestone in the history of the EU. This great occasion will be marked by the adoption of the Berlin declaration, which will pay tribute to the Union's considerable store of achievement during the past half-century.

It is fitting that the Treaty of Rome should be celebrated in this manner, for European integration has been one of the outstanding political achievements of our time. It has played a vital role in rescuing Europe from the wreckage of the early post-war period. It has helped usher in a prolonged era of peace and prosperity for Europe. The vast European Single Market and the creation of the euro are just two of the conspicuous successes that stem from the bold, creative vision contained in the Treaty of Rome.

The Berlin declaration will not just look back at the Union's successes. It will also reaffirm its democratic values and core principles. The declaration will look to the future, highlighting the key economic and political challenges facing Europeans in a changing global environment. I am supportive of the Presidency's desire for a short, evocative 50th anniversary declaration that will speak to the European public in clear terms about the Union's continuing relevance. As leaders, we must express our determination to ensure the Union can continue serving the people of Europe in the years and decades ahead.

I hope the Berlin declaration will help point the way for the Union to deal with the constitutional treaty in the coming months. The treaty commands strong and wide support. It offers answers to many key questions about the future direction and functioning of the Union. I am confident the German Presidency will succeed in its aim of taking the necessary decisions at the June European Council to bring the treaty back into the spotlight. I recognise that those who now have difficulties with the treaty must be accommodated, but this must not result in the substance and balance of the 2004 agreement being undermined.

The main business of the Council was the ongoing progress on the Lisbon Agenda, the development of a European energy policy and the adoption of ambitious new targets on climate change. The Council noted that Europe is enjoying an economic upswing and that reforms are starting to translate into growth and jobs. It is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs is beginning to deliver results. An expected growth rate of 2.7% in 2007 and an expected 7 million new jobs created during the 2007-08 period are just two of the positive indicators that the Lisbon Agenda is working.

It is important that we step up the pace to modernise Europe and its economy. The conclusions in regard to the Lisbon Agenda contain, at Ireland's suggestion, a welcome reference to the need to examine how multilateral discipline in respect of state aids can be strengthened. Such an approach will ensure that external competition is fully taken into account in state aids policy.

We also agreed to aim for a 25% reduction in the administrative burdens resulting from European legislation and that member states should set comparable targets at national level. It is important that each member state takes appropriate action nationally to ensure we reduce unnecessary burdens on business, thereby increasing national competitiveness and growth. In this regard, I have agreed with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, that he will develop and advance a national-level strategy for the reduction of administrative burdens on business to complement the efforts being taken at European level.

Ireland, however, has largely pre-empted the agreement reached last week by the European Council, and we have already significantly advanced work in identifying where unnecessary regulatory burdens lie. Last year, we commissioned the ESRI to conduct a major survey of more than 800 firms on their experiences of regulation. The results of this survey, which I published last week, are encouraging, indicating that Irish businesses consider the amount of regulation in the State is about right, that regulations are appropriately enforced and, in terms of the overall challenges faced by business, rank behind labour costs, increased competition and other business costs.

However, we must look more at how we can reduce the red tape and paperwork in some areas, such as taxation and statistical returns, particularly for smaller businesses. In addition to simplifying our systems and making forms more user-friendly, we must also consider reducing or streamlining the number of times business needs to send in returns and examine how information technology can be of assistance in reducing costs for business.

At the dinner of Heads of State or Government, we also discussed transatlantic trade relations and the significant benefits that would accrue to both Europe and the United States from the smooth and efficient functioning of transatlantic economic and trade relations. This is of particular importance to Ireland. I took the opportunity when I met Prime Minister Blair to stress the importance to Ireland of early agreement on the open skies arrangements between the EU and the United States. The draft agreement negotiated at official level is acceptable from our point of view and I hope that agreement can be reached at the Transport Council of Ministers meeting tomorrow.

The most important elements of Council work were the discussions and conclusions on energy and climate change. President Barroso gave an excellent presentation on the energy action plan, which provided the backdrop to our discussions on the strategy for international climate protection and safeguarding Europe's energy supplies. A step change is needed in Europe's approach to developing renewable sources of energy, and the Council agreed this will only happen with binding targets. The Council has now agreed these targets.

In particular, we have set a target, following the post-Kyoto negotiations, of a 30% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases over the 1990 level. We have also agreed that, in any event, the European Union will achieve at minimum a 20% reduction. We further agreed a binding 20% target for renewable energy. These targets are ambitious but achievable. Europe has stepped up to the mark and taken the lead on this global issue. It is up to the global community to follow.

The Council added a specific provision to the action plan inviting the Commission rapidly to submit proposals to enable energy efficiency requirements on office and street lighting to be adopted by 2008, and on incandescent lamps and other forms of lighting in private households by 2009. It is clear that if we are to achieve our overall targets, specific measures of this nature will be essential.

Ireland will do its part. The Government's White Paper on Energy, which was launched on Monday, 12 March, following the Council meeting, is a sign of our national commitment to a secure, sustainable and competitive energy agenda. Of particular importance to the climate change debate will be the White Paper's commitments to achieve 15% of electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2010 and 33% by 2020, at least 400 MW by 2010 and 800 MW by 2020 from combined heat and power, at least 500 MW installed capacity from the ocean by 2020 and a target of 20% energy savings by 2020, with a 33% target in the public sector.

The Council also considered several international measures. In particular, it agreed there should, if possible, be an EU-Africa summit later this year under the Portuguese Presidency. The Middle East peace process was also discussed, with the Council acknowledging the important role being played by Saudi Arabia and Arab leaders and welcoming the agreement reached in Mecca on 8 February on the formation of a Palestinian Government of national unity. The immediate effect of the agreement was to end the violence between Palestinian groups, which had threatened a slide into civil war. On 17 March, the Palestinian Parliament approved the appointment of a national unity Government, based on the Mecca agreement.

We have welcomed this positive development. It is a tribute to the sustained efforts of President Mahmoud Abbas to create a political consensus in Palestine around the concept of a negotiated two-state solution. The Government will work closely with our EU partners over the next few weeks to ensure there is a creative response by the Union, which will encourage political progress. The Union must be ready to work with President Abbas and with the new Government on the basis of an end to all violence and a demonstrated and active commitment to a two-state solution. The EU will co-ordinate with our international partners, the Israeli Government and the Palestinians to achieve the resumption of a credible political process that can provide lasting peace.

The European Council reiterated its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon. Ireland is playing its part, not least through the 150-strong contingent serving with the reinforced UNIFIL mission in southern Lebanon. We hope the forthcoming Arab summit in Riyadh on 28 March will provide the opportunity for movement to end the political crisis in Lebanon.

I met with Prime Minister Blair on the margins of the meeting. After the meeting, we issued a joint statement that has also been laid before the House. I congratulate those elected in Northern Ireland and wish them the best as they take up their mandate in the Assembly and Executive. The election was the second last step in the St. Andrews timetable. The next and final step is the formation of the Executive.

Taken as a whole, the vote is a clear endorsement for the St. Andrews Agreement. Politics in Northern Ireland has changed and there is no going back. The election was about securing a mandate for power-sharing on 26 March. It is clear that this is what the people want. The onus is now on the political parties to deliver on that mandate.

This European Council marked a major step change in the approach of the European Union to energy and climate change issues. The targets we have set ourselves are ambitious and the agenda ahead of us is daunting. However, I firmly believe that the failure to take resolute action at this time can only lead in the longer term to unthinkable damage both to our environment and to the lives of our children. It is incumbent on all of us as leaders and as citizens to take the decisions now that will avoid the catastrophic effects global warming may carry. Europe, in taking a lead in this area, has given a clear signal that the European Union is still one the most progressive and effective international organisations on the planet. We need to see concomitant efforts by other developed countries and by some of the more advanced developing countries if we are to tackle the problem of global warming. This can be done without overly affecting either competitiveness or the quality of life of the ordinary citizen. Failure to act would have dramatic and adverse effects on both competitiveness and the quality of life of our citizens.

The European Council was a success and proved that European member states can work together in a harmonious and coherent way to deal with the real problems facing both them and their citizens.

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