Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

It was understandable in the circumstances that the main item on the agenda was the financial turmoil at the time. There was sustained support for the concerted position taken by the member states, particularly in the eurozone and the United Kingdom coming together. At the same time they were very critical of how the financial institutions operated, their remuneration, regulation, incentives and so on. The establishment of the financial crisis cell was a particularly valuable result of the Council meeting. It is amazing that having established the eurozone through monetary union, nobody thought of having a mechanism in place to bring people together on a rapid reaction basis when there was a financial crisis. The financial crisis cell will bring representatives of the incumbent EU President, the President of the European Commission, the president of the ECB, the central banks of member states, the president of the Eurogroup and the governments of member states, not just eurozone states. It is a very valuable and important initiative from the European Council. It can be activated by any member when there is a financial crisis in that country or in a broader context. That is the most important element.

My interpretation of the Heads of Government of EU member states at the summit was that they were somewhat disappointed with the Irish Government's attitude. They were more supportive of the Labour Party's view on the financial guarantee than the Government's position. The Government was somewhat out of kilter with the thinking of the European Union. They would have much preferred if the Government had injected some liquidity rather than giving an open-ended guarantee.

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