Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 19, inclusive, together.

I travelled to Paris on 1 October to meet with President Sarkozy. During the meeting we undertook to work closely together between that date and the December European Council. President Sarkozy expressed interest in coming to Ireland again during his Presidency but this was overtaken by my visit to Paris on 5 December.

I travelled to Brussels on 7 November for an informal meeting of Heads of State and Government. The meeting was called by President Sarkozy to discuss the current financial crisis. While there are no formal conclusions from the meeting, it gave the Union the opportunity to frame its general approach to the G20 discussions in Washington on 15 November on examining ways of reforming the international financial system.

I met with President Vaclav Klaus on 10 November as part of the three day State visit to Ireland by the President of the Czech Republic. We held a bilateral discussion, following which I hosted a Government lunch in honour of the President and Mrs. Klausová. President Klaus's visit, which was arranged earlier this year, was a return visit following President McAleese's State visit to the Czech Republic in 1999. As Deputies will be aware, the Czech Republic will assume the Presidency of the European Council on 1 January 2009. We discussed the priorities for the Czech Republic's forthcoming Presidency, the global financial crisis, the Lisbon treaty and bilateral relations between Ireland and the Czech Republic.

I travelled to Helsinki on Thursday, 27 November for an evening meeting with Prime Minister Vanhanen. While in Helsinki I also had a meeting with President Tarja Halonen. I then travelled from Helsinki to Stockholm for a meeting with Prime Minister Reinfelt. On 3 December I met with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg. Following my meeting with Prime Minister Juncker I travelled to Berlin for a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. The following morning I had a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Downing Street. I met with the current President of the European Council, President Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris on Friday, 5 December.

Our discussions were dominated by the Lisbon treaty and on his part, President Sarkozy confirmed that his contacts with the other member states made clear that the process of ratification could not be reopened. The meeting was part of an ongoing and intense co-operation with the French Presidency in our effort to secure a way forward that responds to the concerns of the Irish people while securing the support of all member states. After my meeting in Paris I travelled to Brussels for a meeting with European Commission President Barroso. Once again, discussions at our meeting focused primarily on the Lisbon treaty. We also touched on the climate change and energy package.

During each of these meetings the main topic of discussion was the Lisbon treaty and in particular the concerns of the Irish electorate and how they needed to be addressed. We also discussed other key EU issues, including the climate change and energy package and the international financial crisis.

I also made a series of phone calls to my colleagues in the European Council in the run-up to the summit in Brussels on 11 and 12 December, during which I explained to them what we were hoping to achieve at the European Council, and sought their support. I attended the European Council on 11 and 12 December in Brussels and as I will be making a statement to the House later today I will merely give a summary account of the proceedings.

For Ireland, discussions of the Lisbon treaty was a major focus, and I explained to the Council the concerns of the Irish people. First I indicated that retaining a Commissioner was a real concern for the Irish people and it agreed to that. Second, I stated that I needed an undertaking that the other concerns of the Irish people, such as tax, family and ethical matters and the Common Security and Defence Policy would be addressed in a legally robust manner. This was also agreed upon.

On the basis of the agreements made at the European Council, and on the condition of our being able to satisfactorily put guarantees in place, I have said that I would be prepared to return to the public with the new package and to seek approval of it. It is important to stress that there is much detailed work to be carried out in the months ahead regarding the content of the guarantees to be provided. In addition to the Lisbon treaty, the Council also reached agreement in a number of other areas, most notably the energy climate change package and economic and financial measures.

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