Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I welcome the contributions made by Deputies to this debate. It is very important that the Oireachtas is fully involved in our European business, particularly when such important issues are involved and these debates are a significant part of that work. We are truly at a critical juncture for the future of the European Union project, and the future of the eurozone in particular. I believe this House has an important contribution to make to that work.

I will travel to Brussels this week with the Taoiseach to participate in pre-European Council political consultations and will work with the Taoiseach to prepare the Government's position for the Council. As the Taoiseach outlined earlier, it will be a key meeting for a number of reasons. First, this week's meeting of the European Council will agree a new compact for growth and jobs. This is a sea change. For the first time, the growth agenda will take centre stage and be endorsed with the highest level of political commitment. This is a welcome development which this Government has been advocating for some time. While it is clear that we will not have stability until governments bring their budgets under control, it is equally clear that there will be no recovery within Europe without growth. We need a clear and concrete strategy to achieve it, and this compact is a major step in the right direction. Coupled with the Van Rompuy report, it will map out a way forward. This is the time for action. We need to see our way out of the crisis and to take the necessary steps to get there.

The new compact will bring together a series of actions to be taken at the level of member states, but critically it will also set out the contribution that European policies can make to growth and employment across the Union. These will include efforts to get investment flowing to where it is needed most, through the European Investment Bank, project bonds and the re-programming of structural funds. In doing this, it is essential that we do not allow bureaucratic hurdles to get in the way of getting important investment flowing to the regions which have been hardest hit by the current crisis and where it can have the most positive impact. The Government will be making the case for a pragmatic flexibility. That affects Ireland's future interests and we will be clear in our views on this in Brussels this week. The new compact also addresses the very considerable growth potential which remains within the Single Market. There remains considerable scope to achieve more. Once again, we see Ireland as a beneficiary of that potential. To this end, we look forward to the presentation by the Commission of a further set of growth-enhancing measures during the autumn.

We must prioritise a properly-functioning digital Single Market, which facilitates cross-border on-line trade. Trade also offers a real engine for growth. We look forward to the early formalisation of free trade agreements with both Singapore and Canada. Progress in trade negotiations with the US, and with India and Japan, will be important in giving the global economy a shot in the arm, and will boost the export of European and Irish goods that serve markets around the world.

As well as adopting the new compact, this week's European Council will also consider President Van Rompuy's report on how to strengthen economic and monetary union. In his report, the President has identified the essential elements on which we need to work to ensure a strong, stable and durable economic union, namely, greater integration on banking, on budgetary frameworks and on economic policy. This is a perspective the Government has called for and it is welcome to see it now formally on the table. However, although all of these proposals will build momentum in the right direction, it remains my firm and clear view that until we break the pernicious link between bank and sovereign debt, we will not restore confidence. This needs to be done in the short term because for as long as it remains, it will be difficult to restore confidence in the markets.

The Van Rompuy report sets out an agenda for strengthening economic union in the medium to long term in a way that is fundamentally in the interests of all Europeans, including the people of Ireland. It does not, of course, pretend to address the immediate crisis. That will also have to be addressed in a clear and decisive way at this week's meeting of the European Council. President's Van Rompuy's report covers the elements on which we are going to have to find a way forward if we are to deliver long term stability. which is, after all, what it is about. It is not about integration for integration's sake, but reinforcing economic union to ensure a stable and secure future. We need to see the right balance between sharing of mutual risk and furthering of integration. Put simply, solidarity must accompany integration in a balanced manner. Our challenge is in the immediate here and now. We need political will to show concrete steps in the short term. A theme running through all elements of President Van Rompuy's report is the need to ensure full democratic legitimacy and accountability throughout the process ahead. This is absolutely vital and we have long advocated it. We in Ireland know better than most the critical importance of bringing people with us. Their support cannot be taken for granted. President Van Rompuy clearly envisages a role for national parliaments, including this House, in what lies ahead and this is both necessary and welcome.

This meeting of the European Council has a very full agenda. In addition to the compact and President Van Rompuy's report, it will address for the first time at Heads of State and Government level the next multiannual financial framework. It will also address a range of other issues including: the Justice and Home Affairs area;the opening of accession negotiations with Montenegro; nuclear stress tests; and foreign policy issues, most notably the evolving situation in Syria. The House can be assured that the Government will work to advance and defend Irish interests throughout the process.

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