Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

This week's meeting of the European Council will be particularly busy. There are a significant number of issues on the agenda which are of importance for both Europe and Ireland. The Council will meet tomorrow evening and continue its business into Friday. Our discussion tomorrow will be devoted to economic issues. On the morning of 24 June we will discuss asylum and migration issues. Discussion of foreign policy matters, including Syria, Libya and the Middle East generally, will take place in our final session over lunch.

Finance Ministers dealt extensively with the question of Greece at their meeting on Sunday and Monday and the ball is now firmly in the Greek court. Having won a vote of confidence last night, the Greek Government now needs to secure the support of Parliament for new budgetary measures if the fifth tranche of funding under the Greek programme, amounting to €12 billion, is to be released. The question of a second, longer term package for Greece is to be discussed further by Finance Ministers in July. Although I expect that Heads of State or Government will take stock of this situation, I agree with President Van Rompuy who, when he met with me here in Dublin last Friday, made it clear he does not wish the situation in Greece to dominate the European Council meeting. There are other important matters to be discussed and it is important they be given due time and attention.

As the House will be aware, discussion of the situation in Greece has particular significance for Ireland, as another member state in an agreed programme, albeit on a very different basis from Greece. Any agreement on future arrangements for Greece must avoid any negative read-across, or risk of contagion to others, with potentially serious consequences for Ireland. We know from experience that the markets do not differentiate the situations of member states as finely as they should. The Irish people are making great efforts to get our economy back on track. The Government has made clear its commitment to ensuring that Ireland pays its way, honouring the commitments into which it has entered. At the meeting I will work to ensure that Irish interests are fully safe-guarded. I will also continue to emphasise the importance of ensuring that all aspects of a programme support the shared goals of early recovery and return to borrowing on the markets. One element of this is the pricing of loans, and I will continue to press the case for early implementation of the March agreement to lower the interest rate under the EFSF. At that time, it was agreed that a lower rate would better take into account the debt sustainability needs of recipient countries. This analysis remains sound and what has been agreed should be put into effect, including for Ireland. In this regard, I very much welcome the agreement earlier in the week that the permanent EU funding mechanism which will enter into force in 2013 - the European Stability Mechanism - will not apply preferred creditor statements to any loans made to member states currently in a programme under the EFSF. This will assist us in making as early a return to the markets as possible, which has always been our goal. While we do not intend or expect to be a client of the stability mechanism, the mere possibility of having loans subordinated to those under the mechanism was already causing difficulties for Ireland and others, given the uncertainty it created for potential lenders. This uncertainty has now been removed. The Finance Ministers are to be congratulated on this. The change will be reflected in the treaty necessary to establish the European Stability Mechanism. The European Council will sign off on this agreement. In the light of the political requirements of some states, formal signature is expected to take place at a later date.

President Van Rompuy has indicated to me that he wishes the economic discussion to be wide-ranging. It will involve the endorsement of the country-specific recommendations proposed by the Commission and adopted by the Council following the submission of national reform programmes and stability programme updates by member states. This is the final step in the new European semester. When the recommendations have been endorsed, member states will be expected to reflect them in their forthcoming budgetary processes. It has been recommended that Ireland should continue to implement the EU-IMF programme as the best means of getting the economy back to growth and recovery and restoring our ability to return to borrowing in the open markets as quickly as possible.

More generally, each member state is being asked to give priority to ensuring there is a sound macroeconomic environment. This can be done by restoring financial sustainability, correcting macroeconomic imbalances, repairing the financial sector, reducing unemployment, particularly through labour market reforms, and making renewed efforts to prioritise growth. There will also be a discussion on the commitments that member states have made under the new Euro Plus Pact. Over 100 measures have been pledged by those participating. Ireland's commitments are drawn from the EU-IMF programme commitments and the national reform programme. It is expected that the European Council will welcome these commitments as a first step. It is intended that we will return in December to take stock of the progress being made in implementing what has been agreed. The meeting is expected to confirm the appointment of Mario Draghi as President of the European Central Bank.

Significant progress has been made in recent years to develop a strong common European policy in the field of asylum and migration. This is an important feature of a European Union which has at its core the right to free movement within its borders. There is little doubt that recent events, including those in the southern Mediterranean, have placed the system under pressure. The brunt of such developments has been particularly felt in a number of member states. For this reason and in a spirit of solidarity, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, recently announced the Government's willingness to receive a small number of refugees from Malta. Consideration has been given for some time to improving the operation of the current Schengen area, but this has now been placed in sharp focus. The European Council will have discussions on issues such as making sure there is trust in the system, ensuring Europe's borders are effectively and coherently managed, providing for effective and reliable monitoring and the possibility of invoking a safeguard mechanism in response to exceptional circumstances, with due regard to the principle of free movement.

I do not necessarily expect this week's meeting to be able to reach final agreement on these sensitive issues, but I expect it will give added impetus and momentum to the work. As the House will be aware, Ireland does not participate in the Schengen area. However, we share an interest in ensuring there is a consistent and strategic policy to manage mobility in a shared environment. In that context, an important objective must be to address the root causes of migration at a structural level. That is why the European Council will agree to develop a partnership with the countries of the southern neighbourhood, on which the Commission recently brought forward a communication. This could include a structured dialogue with the countries of the region on migration, mobility and security, aimed at delivering tangible benefits to both sides.

Accession negotiations with Croatia are reaching a successful conclusion. The European Council is expected to call for them to be formally closed by the end of the month, with a view to the signature of an accession treaty by the end of the year. Ireland has supported the Croatian case for membership for a long time. We congratulate the Croatian Government and people on reaching this important milestone.

The House will recall that before the second referendum on the Lisbon treaty, Ireland secured legally binding guarantees on taxation policy; family, social and ethical issues; and defence matters. It was agreed at the time that the guarantees would be attached to the treaties by means of a protocol at the time of the next accession treaty. Contacts with the relevant authorities, including the Council legal service, are under way to ensure this work is taken forward as speedily as possible. It will be necessary to give effect to the decision that the Commission will continue to comprise one Commissioner per member state.

The European Council will also discuss a number of important international issues, including the situation in Syria and Libya and the Middle East generally. The Minister of State, Deputy Lucinda Creighton, will report on these aspects of the matter when she speaks at the conclusion of the debate.

See this speech in context