Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

As a result of our referendum one thing is certain and that is we are not going to see the establishment of a eurosceptic north-eastern European region. Deputy Costello asked about commemorative events next month. To my knowledge there are no special ceremonies proposed. A December European Council meeting will be held as usual and as the Taoiseach mentioned, there will be a special Council meeting next week at which the high posts that must be filled will be discussed.

The former Deputy and Taoiseach, John Bruton, was mentioned in the House. I regard John Bruton as a very good friend and we worked closely together on the convention on the future of Europe. He has many talents that could be brought to the role in question. The most significant factor is whether the role is to be chairman or chief. In my view, having been at the convention and at all the IGCs, intergovernmental conferences, the role was always intended to be that of a chairman. It was intended to be a co-ordinating role. This is not to say it was to be stilted or narrow in scope as it is a very important role. It must provide continuity and energise the Union, to make sure the agenda is followed and to ensure that progress is made by the Union.

There is also an external representation review. However, I never saw the role of President as being European President. This was one of the great myths spouted during the two referenda in this country. I wish John Bruton well. The success or otherwise of his potential candidacy will very much depend on the support he gets from within the EPP family because that is where the first decisions will be made. I do not wish to intrude but I am sure Deputy Kenny has made appropriate representations. John Bruton is held in high regard within that group. To return to the point made by Deputy Costello about the next European Council, the nature of these posts is that they will be filled in a way that should perhaps be more open than it is. They will be filled by the Presidency taking a series of soundings and coming back to the various exponents of various candidates and attempting in that way to reach a consensus.

On the issue of regionalisation of the Union, it is not regionalisation but rather a recognition of the specific regions in the neighbourhood policies of the European Union member state. These need specific attention. This time last year, we saw how critical it was to have a good policy towards the east, when Bulgaria and Romania had the gas cut off because of the dispute between Russia and the Ukraine and the resulting detrimental impact. The Mediterranean region initiative was launched with some celebration by the French Presidency. They were very colourful ceremonies. This was a very sensible recognition of the specific issues within the Mediterranean basin, not least for example, illegal immigration. Malta is in a dreadful state and Cyprus and Italy are handling a significant burden in this regard so there needs to be a specific policy for that area. On the issue of the Baltic region, the Baltic Sea is very heavily polluted, not because of effluent discharged from Europe but rather effluent discharged from Russia over a long period.

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