Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I attended the meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday, 10 December and Friday, 11 December last. While some weeks have passed since the meeting took place, it is worthwhile for me to report to the House on the business of the meeting. It is important that we have this opportunity for statements on the matter. It was the first meeting of the European Council since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force on 1 December 2009. Inevitably, it had something of a transitional feel about it. Nonetheless, it gave us an interesting glimpse into how the European Council will function into the future. Under the Lisbon treaty, meetings of the European Council should be prepared by the General Affairs Council. While that did not happen on this occasion, I understand that the General Affairs Council will meet on two occasions to prepare the spring meeting of the European Council, which is scheduled for 25 and 26 March next and will concentrate on economic issues. The Lisbon treaty also provides that the members of the Council shall be the Heads of State or Government, together with its president and the President of the Commission. Therefore, Foreign Ministers will not automatically attend, as has normally been the case up to now. The December meeting followed this new format, with no Ministers present. Having said that, Ministers may join future meetings depending on the agenda.

The Lisbon treaty created the new post of President of the European Council, to which we unanimously elected Mr. Herman Van Rompuy when we met in November. I have expressed my congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Van Rompuy as he embarks on his new role. Although he did not chair the December meeting as his full range of functions did not take effect until 1 January last, he joined us to outline his initial views on how he sees his role evolving. The meeting was instead chaired by the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr. Fredrik Reinfeldt. As he did throughout the Swedish Presidency, he brought a good mix of common sense and leadership to his role. He again steered the meeting to a successful conclusion. I wish to record my appreciation of Mr. Reinfeldt's stewardship of the Council's business during the course of the Swedish Presidency.

Notwithstanding the changes introduced by the Lisbon treaty, the rotating Presidency of the European Union remains an important element of the Union's architecture. In this regard, I extend my best wishes to the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr. Zapatero, as the incoming Spanish Presidency takes up the reins for the coming period. The new post of President of the European Council logically and inevitably means that Heads of State and Government will no longer chair Council meetings. It is worth taking a moment to reflect on this change, which has attracted relatively little attention to date. Many former taoisigh have fulfilled the role of chair of the European Council with great distinction during past Irish Presidencies of the European Union, often at times of huge importance along Europe's journey to peace and economic success. Their conduct and success as President of the European Council reflect the long and proud tradition of Ireland's membership of and contribution to the Union, since we joined what was then the European Economic Community in 1973. They epitomise in many ways the enthusiasm, support and conviction that Ireland has brought to its membership of the Union. I will come back to this issue briefly in a few moments.

A number of important topics were on the agenda at the December meeting of the European Council. I refer, for example, to some implementation issues arising under the Lisbon treaty, the economic and employment situation, climate change, justice and home affairs issues and external relations. Our discussion of Lisbon treaty implementation measures included the format of the European Council itself, issues relating to establishment of the European external action service and the need to address anomalies in European Parliament seat allocations arising from the most recent Parliament elections, which preceded the entry into force of the treaty. I have often stressed the need for Europe to move beyond its long-running preoccupation with institutional issues. It is time for us to put the spotlight firmly on real issues like jobs and climate change. This view was unanimously shared at the December meeting.

While positions varied from country to country during the Council's discussion of economic issues, the general view was that the crisis is stabilising across Europe and we are at the preliminary, if fragile, stages of a recovery. Nonetheless, many colleagues expressed concern about the growth of unemployment and the social effects that accompany it. They emphasised the need to focus on maintaining and creating jobs, now that the scale of some of the macroeconomic threats has moderated to an extent. The Council agreed that trade has an important role to play in stimulating a recovery in jobs and that further work is required to complete the Internal Market and to safeguard against protectionism externally.

As an economy that is enormously dependent on trade and exports, Ireland shares and welcomes these sentiments. We discussed the need for the principles of the Stability and Growth Pact to be respected. During my conversations with my colleagues, there was much interest in the tough but necessary decisions we have taken here, including those announced in last month's budget. My counterparts and the Commission made it clear that we are resolutely committed to implementing a sustainable and credible fiscal consolidation in very challenging times.

With an eye to the longer term, the Council had a preliminary discussion on the nature of the successor to the Lisbon strategy for jobs and growth, which will be known as EU 2020. The President of the Council has called an informal meeting of the European Council for 11 February to discuss economic matters, including an exchange of views on this new and important initiative. The European Commission has been carrying out a parallel consultation process on EU 2020, prior to the new college of Commissioners presenting formal proposals over the coming weeks. The Government has contributed to that consultation process. Discussions and negotiations on this topic will build in the coming months. The aim is that it will be discussed in detail at the spring meeting of the European Council, with a view to formal adoption by the Council in June.

The Council stressed at the December meeting that fiscal exit strategies need to be implemented within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact. We also agreed that a co-ordinated approach to unwinding financial supports is necessary and must take account of the need for financial stability and the differentiated situations in member states. The key work in this area is being done within ECOFIN. The European Council will receive a further report on fiscal and financial exit strategies in advance of its June meeting. The European Council also welcomed the good work done at ECOFIN during 2009 on new structures for financial supervision in Europe. The structures aim to provide greater protection against future bubbles and crises and to enhance stability across Europe. I share the view that the new regime should become operational this year.

Climate change was also a major topic at the meeting, not least because we were meeting a week before the culmination of the Copenhagen climate change summit. During our discussions, which have been somewhat overtaken by the relatively disappointing outcome of the Copenhagen summit, we reached clear agreement within the Union on the global importance of the climate change challenge and the need for the Union to continue to play a leadership role. We had committed to a 20% reduction in emissions by 2020 and were prepared to increase this to 30% if other key regions made comparable commitments. At the time of the December Council meeting, there continued to be a slim hope that other key players would commit to comparable targets at Copenhagen. With the benefit of hindsight, we may have been too optimistic in our assessment of what others might be willing to do. For our own part, by committing unilaterally to a 20% cut, we went much further than many other key players were and are ready to contemplate.

We also agreed that the Union was prepared to contribute fast-start finance for developing nations amounting to €2.4 billion annually for the years 2010 to 2012. We saw this as a way for the Union to show good faith and to try to inject a positive dynamic into the negotiations in Copenhagen which, as we were meeting, were beginning to show signs of strain. Fast-start financing can be a crucial element of a global approach to climate change by helping developing countries to cope with the consequences of climate change and reduce their own emissions from greenhouse gases. For our part, I agreed that we would contribute up to €100 million over the three year period as our fair share of the Union's efforts. This represents a major contribution from Ireland, especially in the context of the current budgetary difficulties and the nature of the sacrifices that our people are being asked to make. The Council also took important steps in a number of other areas, including the Union's sustainable development strategy and inviting the Commission to advance work on the Union's future financial framework.

In the justice and home affairs area, we adopted the Stockholm programme, which is a new framework for the years 2010 to 2014. This is an area of increasing importance to our citizens, who are deeply concerned about cross-border crime, including the trafficking of people and drugs. The next step is for the Commission to present a work programme to turn this framework into action and this will also be a priority for the Spanish Presidency.

On the external relations front, we adopted conclusions on the Eastern Partnership and the Union for the Mediterranean, as well as on Iran and Afghanistan. These texts were negotiated under the direction of Foreign Ministers and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, can elaborate on them if necessary.

The December meeting marks the beginning of a new phase in the working of the European Council which will continue to evolve over coming months, not least as the role of the President of the Council comes into full effect. The Lisbon treaty aims to make our Union more efficient and effective. Given the challenges we face, we need Europe to deliver on those aims and the European Council has a key role to play. As we adjust to new procedures, it is important that we strike the right balance between consultation and action; small and large member states; the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the Parliament and the Commission; and action at European and national, regional or local level.

Here in Ireland, we must now put the Lisbon treaty referendums behind us and demonstrate that we are enthusiastic and committed players. A small country does not wield influence by being perceived as half-hearted. On the contrary, as we have learned and shown in the past, our influence is directly related to our level of commitment and engagement. It is only by dispelling any residual doubts others might hold about our commitment that we can maximise our influence. To do this, we must show form. Often this simply means bringing our own blend of pragmatism and a collaborative approach to bear on EU negotiations. At other times it means accepting that compromise is the life blood of co-operation between member states and institutions. Above all, it means maximising our engagement at all levels. The new Lisbon treaty arrangements require us to step up a gear. Together with the Minister, Deputy Martin, I am leading work within the Government on improving our overall engagement with the European Union.

Lisbon also brings important changes to national parliaments, in which regard I welcome the work of the Oireachtas, and particularly the determination of the Joint Committees on European Affairs and European Scrutiny to examine how the Oireachtas can improve how it deals with EU business.

Improving engagement is necessary for our medium to long-term interests, whether that relates to our economic or financial situation, negotiations on the future budget or the priorities of the Union, such as the Common Agriculture Policy. However, it is also important as we seek understanding of our current situation and the decisions and actions we have to take in the more immediate future. This goes beyond Government because we all have a role to play. We need to deepen our engagement with European institutions, strengthen bilateral relations with fellow member states and attach priority to negotiations within the EU not just when laws are being developed, but also in regard to their transposition and enforcement domestically. Finally, we must ensure that the Irish people have a better understanding and awareness of the European Union, how it operates and how we benefit from it.

As we embark on a further stage of the Union's development, the Government is determined to renew our engagement within Europe. We can only succeed if Europe succeeds and we are determined to play our full part to ensure that it does.

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