Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I thank Members for their contributions to this important debate. I represented the Government at yesterday's meeting of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg. It is the responsibility of the Council to prepare the work of each European Council meeting and it was agreed yesterday that we would meet again next Saturday, in advance of the rescheduled European Council meeting on 23 October. We heard from the President of the European Council, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, about his plans for that meeting. He was interested to get a sense from Ministers of their reactions to the shape which the draft conclusions for the European Council are developing. There was a broadly shared view that the draft conclusions struck a correct balance across the range of issues. These were set out by the Taoiseach earlier and include a most welcome focus on jobs and growth. It has been repeatedly said in this House that there must be a balance in terms of moving away from a constant focus on austerity to a greater consideration of stimulus measures and growth prospects. That will be a key focus for the European Council meeting.

Mr. Van Rompuy also briefed Ministers on his ongoing work to develop concrete proposals on how to improve working methods and enhance management in the euro area. He and his team have conducted an extensive round of bilateral consultations with all member states and other interested partners, including the European Commission. As the Taoiseach noted, Mr. Van Rompuy's proposals in this regard are awaited. The time leading up to the European Council meeting later this month will be put to good use in allowing Mr. Van Rompuy and his team to ascertain the fullest possible picture of the needs facing the euro area, which will inform his proposals. The Government, like all member state Governments, will feed into that process. We will avail of the opportunity to put forward our position at the eurozone and ECOFIN meetings that will take place towards the end of next week and at the General Affairs Council meeting on Saturday.

The draft conclusions also highlight the critical importance of the external aspects of Europe's economic policy in terms of boosting our growth potential into the future. There are concrete actions the EU can and should take, such as focusing on bilateral and regional trade agreements, as well as the overall prize of concluding the WTO Doha round of trade talks and developing the EU's economic ties of trade and investment with those countries in our own neighbourhood. The Taoiseach outlined these issues in detail earlier. Given the ongoing difficulties with the Doha round, there is a strong awareness of the need to focus on these regional and bilateral arrangements and to intensify efforts in that regard.

As well as addressing preparations for the European Council meeting on economic policy issues, the General Affairs Council also addressed itself at yesterday's meeting to the preparation of an agreed EU position for the G20 summit which France will host in Cannes at the beginning of November. This puts forward an important and credible deadline for the European Council to come forward with a much more substantive response to the current crisis in the eurozone. It is a natural deadline.

I have limited time in which to respond to Members' points. Deputy Michéal Martin urged that the Government, particularly the Taoiseach, engage in more bilateral initiatives. I assure him that work is ongoing. It is not true to say the Taoiseach has not had bilateral meetings with other Heads of Government other than on the fringes of European Council meetings. For example, he has had bilateral meetings with the Hungarian Prime Minister, Mr. Orbán, and the Polish Prime Minister, Mr. Tusk, in Dublin.

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