Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I attended the meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, 29 and 30 October. I was accompanied at the meeting by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, and by Deputy Dick Roche, Minister of State with responsibility for European Union affairs. The European Council meeting was the first regular meeting of European Heads of State in some time at which the subject of Ireland's ratification of the Lisbon treaty was not the focus of both our own national efforts and a key interest of others. However, the Council was again more concerned than one might wish with institutional issues and with the Lisbon treaty. On this occasion, the spotlight was on the Czech Republic and the prospect of the instrument of ratification being signed after the Czech Parliament had approved the ratification of the treaty.

As it was the first meeting of the Council since the decisive vote of the Irish public on 2 October last, I was invited by the Presidency to say a few words about the referendum. I was mindful of the significant difference between Ireland's predicament and that of the Czech Republic. I informed my colleagues that we completed all the formalities relating to our ratification of the treaty when the Minister of State, Deputy Dick Roche, deposited the instrument of ratification in Rome on 24 October. I recalled that we had made it clear following the outcome of the first referendum in June 2008 that we would not rush into any course of action, but would consider and assess in depth the underlying reasons for the decision of the Irish people. The Government, and the Oireachtas through the work of the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union, worked to identify and understand the issues concerned. At the same time, we ensured that the significance of the EU in the everyday lives of the public was fully appreciated. I recalled our previous discussions at Council, notably the support I had sought and obtained to ensure we would get a satisfactory response to the concerns raised by the public. I thanked my colleagues around the table for their consistent engagement with that task. I made it clear that we believe that Ireland and the European Council negotiated in good faith and were true to those negotiations. I emphasised how decisive the outcome was when the referendum result was declared on 3 October. I said that the overwhelming nature of the result was a clear statement of Ireland's support for the Lisbon treaty and the Union more generally. I concluded by making clear that the most fitting conclusion to the entire process would be the rapid implementation of the Lisbon treaty.

The Council also discussed the situation that had arisen in the Czech Republic. The Council noted that the Lisbon treaty had been approved by the peoples or parliaments of all 27 member states. To provide a constructive response to the Czech Government's efforts to resolve its difficulties, the Council agreed that at the time of a future accession treaty, the Czech Republic would be able to join the UK and Poland in signing up to Protocol 30 to the Lisbon treaty, which relates to the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in those countries. While there was concern that the Czech Republic's decision to seek this change might lead others to engage in similar manoeuvres, the over-riding priority - to see the treaty enter into force and allow the Union to concentrate on policy rather than institutional issues - prevailed. The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic subsequently rejected the remaining legal challenge to the Lisbon treaty. Later the same day, the Czech President, Mr. Klaus, signed the instrument of ratification which the Czech Prime Minister, Mr. Fischer, has said he will deposit in Rome on Friday, 13 November next.

The question of discussing the new positions, notably the President of the European Council and the high representative, did not arise because of the situation with the Lisbon treaty. This issue has moved on somewhat since the Czech President, Mr. Klaus, signed that country's instrument of ratification. It is clear that the treaty will enter into force on 1 December next. The Swedish Presidency is engaging in discussions with each member state regarding the filling of the new posts. The discussions will continue over the coming days. The Swedish Presidency has signalled its intention to convene an extra meeting of the European Council tomorrow week, 19 November, to deal with this matter comprehensively.

I have consistently said that the question of who we will support for the position of President of the European Council ultimately depends on the names that are in the frame. Following the referendum result, I indicated during an interview that Mr. Tony Blair was well regarded in Ireland because of his role in the Northern Ireland peace process. More recently, when Mr. John Bruton put his name forward as a potential compromise candidate, I made it clear that I would be happy to see an Irish person in the post. I said that as Mr. Bruton has excellent experience and credentials, his candidature has the full support of the Government. It has been suggested that the President of the Council should be one of the current members of the Council. As the filling of the post of high representative cannot be done in isolation from the filling of the position of President of the Council, the same situation applies in terms of the Swedish Presidency taking soundings. There is also a question of political balance across the top EU positions.

Securing agreement to retain one Commissioner per member state under the Lisbon treaty was a very important factor for the Government in running and winning the second referendum on the Lisbon treaty. I had discussions with President Barroso about this matter on Monday and over the past couple of weeks. I will talk to him again in the coming days. We will then be in a position to put forward our nominee for the position of EU Commissioner.

As expected, the other key focus of discussion at the Council was climate change, including the issue of financing. The Council agreed a clear and ambitious mandate for the negotiations at the Copenhagen conference in December. The Union has provided leadership on climate change from the outset. The agreement reached at the October European Council allows it to continue to do so. Different views were expressed within the Council about how far the Union should commit itself in advance of the final negotiations in Copenhagen. How far it will go will depend on the actions of others. I am confident that the continuing differences of view on how the financial burden should be shared internally can be resolved. In any event, such differences do not impede the ability of the Union to push the global negotiations forward. The outcome of the Council represents a balanced outcome to accommodate the various views, as it always does.

It is widely accepted that the Copenhagen conference will not result in a fully fledged legally binding international agreement. That does not mean we should drop our level of ambition. We must ensure the conference gets us as far along the road to a comprehensive and binding agreement as possible. Rather than winding down the pressure on others to step up to the plate, we must increase it. The EU position heading into the Copenhagen conference remains ambitious. The EU has made its commitments in a transparent way, backed up by resources. By endorsing the global figure of €100 billion in international financing per annum by 2020, and by committing to pay its fair share of that, the Union is again taking the lead and setting the pace for what must be achieved in Copenhagen. The purpose of this process is to achieve an international agreement that prevents the catastrophic global consequences of our planet warming too much.

Our position is strongly conditional on others accepting and fulfilling their obligations, proportionate to their responsibilities and means. Only in that event can we agree a treaty that will achieve what we want. It looks increasingly unlikely that such a treaty will be agreed at Copenhagen, although it may be agreed shortly afterwards. The Copenhagen conference may result in a political agreement, rather than a legally binding treaty. In that event, we must work to ensure it achieves the maximum that is feasible. There is much to play for in the negotiations over the coming weeks. I wish to make it clear that Europe and Ireland remain fully committed to an ambitious, comprehensive and effective global deal. Although the December meeting creates the potential for deadline-driven momentum, the quality of the agreement is, within reason, more important than the timing.

While it was not top of the Council's agenda on this occasion, the Council was extremely mindful of the ongoing difficulties in the global and European economies. The Council recognised the progress made in improving the financial regulatory structures in relation to systemic risk and banking supervision. We agreed on the need to co-ordinate exit strategies and to avoid choking off any potential recovery. That work is being advanced most notably at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. The Council was clear that the stimulus measures put in place by most of our partners should not be removed until the recovery is fully secured. The Commission and the Council of Ministers were asked to revert to December's European Council in relation to exit strategies. There is an increasing focus on the impact of the current economic difficulties on sustaining and creating people's jobs, which is where the real pain is felt. The Council is looking forward to discussing a new European strategy for jobs and growth. That will form part of the upcoming review of the Lisbon strategy, which is likely to be a core element of next spring's European Council, when such economic matters will be formally dealt with.

The Council focused particularly on the milk sector which, as Deputies are fully aware, is experiencing ongoing difficulties. The Council welcomed the efforts made by the European Commission to date. We are pleased that the work of the new high level group on milk is being accorded a level of recognition that reflects the priority we, like many other EU member states, attach to this real issue.

The Council returned to the issue of immigration, which had also arisen in June, not least as a result of the considerable difficulties being experienced by our Mediterranean partners. The Council noted the progress being made in implementing measures regarding illegal immigration. It called for further efforts to be made, notably in respect of FRONTEX, which is the EU's dedicated body aimed at improving co-ordination on border issues. The December European Council is expected to adopt a new multi-annual programme in the field of freedom, security and justice, which is often referred to as the Stockholm programme. The Council also adopted conclusions on the Baltic Sea strategy and on external relations.

This was a good Council from an Irish perspective. Over the past two years, Lisbon treaty issues have inevitably dominated our domestic consideration of EU issues and absorbed time, energy and resources. A similar, if less acute, difficulty has affected the rest of the Union. It is to the advantage of everyone to see the Lisbon treaty enter into force, which seems set to happen on Tuesday fortnight. I look forward to the putting in place of the new elements under the Lisbon treaty, including the filling of the new posts and the appointment of a new Commission. Then, we will be in a position, both domestically and with our EU partners, to engage thoroughly on the full panoply of issues such as climate change and energy, cross-border crime, jobs, competitiveness and agricultural markets to name a few of the major issues where decisions taken at EU level can make a real difference to our public.

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