Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Yes, and in the Dáil. We have incandescent bulbs in the Dáil and our first step might be to ensure energy-efficient lighting in the Houses of the Oireachtas, both in our offices and in the Chambers.

We could talk quite a bit about the constitutional treaty but, interestingly, the Heads of State did not do so at the summit talks. It is the central issue and in many ways it was the elephant in the room. It became quite obvious during the discussions that Angela Merkel heard very divisive opinions in her bilateral discussions with the member states prior to the summit and to drawing up the Berlin declaration, which will be launched next Sunday. It seems from the remarks made that the treaty may not even be included as a major section or will only be included in passing. This would be a terrible shame.

Any initiative that by-passes the central issue engaging the Union at present, that is, the constitutional treaty, will be a failure. The delays in respect of the treaty have limited progress of all sorts, including political progress, in addition to enlargement and developments concerning fundamental rights and the values of the Union, which are all ensconced in the treaty. The treaty must be a central part of the declaration and, if not, the German Chancellor will simply have taken on board the more negative aspects of what has been said to her. Let us remember that 18 of the 27 member states have signed up to the treaty, either by way of referendum or parliamentary vote. All the Heads of State have signed the document prior to its being put forward for approval in the member states, which suggests it is not a draft treaty. It is a matter of signing up to the original document.

If there is a dilution or diminution of the substance of the document, we will have to return to all the matters that arose initially. The only way forward is to enhance the document, which can certainly be achieved through the initiative on climate change and through intergovernmental protocols on global leadership regarding the elimination of world poverty and 21st century slavery. Human trafficking is a form of slavery. These are major issues with which we can engage without upsetting the balance of the constitutional treaty. However, we must not by-pass it and pretend it does not exist.

Considerable emphasis was placed on the Lisbon Agenda, which is very welcome. A world-class economy and world-class society in the European Union must go side by side. The increase in overall employment of 2.7% so far in 2007 was particularly welcome.

There were many pluses and minuses in the discussions during the summit on 8 and 9 March but we will not know what progress is taking place until we see the Berlin declaration and determine whether the initiative has really been seized by the German Presidency and whether we will be able to address the major issues of the constitutional treaty, enlargement and reaching the targets on climate change, which we need to achieve so badly. We will await the declaration in anticipation.

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