Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The European Council was finally able to bring in a seven-year EU budget at its last meeting. As Deputy Gerry Adams said, it is the first time in 56 years that the EU budget has been cut. The issue with the EU budget is not only the size of the expenditure but what the money is used for. Any independent analysis would show that the overall structure of the budget has been left untouched. The Council missed an historic opportunity to refocus the budget strategically to promote growth and jobs. Savings have been made in administration which we all welcome but a significant area which has not been addressed is the waste involved in having two seats for the European Parliament. The monthly charade of decamping thousands of officials, MEPs and their documents from Brussels to Strasbourg has not been ended in favour of a single seat for the European Parliament. A single location has the potential to save an estimated €200 million per annum or €1.4 billion over the seven-year period of the current budget. It would be a huge saving in anyone's estimation.

In reality, this is an austerity budget into which the EU will be locked for the next seven years on foot of the Council meeting. There were great expectations in various quarters on the budget in respect of which many of us argued that it should be fit for purpose and include a large stimulus element to kickstart an economic recovery across Europe. The budget does not contain sufficient spending to boost investment in jobs and growth and will leave many member states starved of strategic investment in key areas. The Government told us repeatedly that the top priority for EU leaders was jobs and growth but the proposals for investment in jobs and growth in the budget are very limited. While €6 billion has been allocated to the European youth guarantee, only €3 billion is new money. The other €3 billion has been taken from the European Social Fund and would otherwise have filtered back into many communities across Europe.

There are 26 million unemployed people across the 27 member states of the EU. Nearly 6 million young people under the age of 25 years are unemployed across the EU. The money provided is definitely not enough given that the youth unemployment rate averages 23.4% across the EU. In some member states, the rate is a lot higher. At current unemployment rates, the EU will only invest €1,000 per unemployed youth over seven years, which amounts to €142 per unemployed person per year. Does the Taoiseach seriously believe this funding is enough to tackle a European-wide crisis? No one in his right mind could believe it will tackle the problem of youth unemployment across Europe. While there are other measures which may not have a cost element, no one can seriously argue this will solve the crisis all European leaders believe exists and made their number one priority going into the Council meeting. The minor measures being adopted in the EU budget do not come anywhere near the level of stimulus and investment needed to tackle the crisis facing the 26 million unemployed and their families. Only significant investment in young people will provide a pathway out of the crisis and build a prosperous and inclusive Europe.

The heading of competitiveness for growth and jobs, which covers funding for research, enterprise, small and medium enterprises or SMEs, Erasmus for All, Horizon 2020 and developing the social agenda, sees an increase of €34 billion. While this is welcome, the increase must also cover programmes including global monitoring for environment and security, the Galileo global navigation system, and ITER fusion energy research. That will suck up a great deal of the funds which would otherwise have been available for SMEs which we know have the potential to create jobs and increase growth.

The Council pledged its support for the Syrian people's aspirations and for a Syrian national coalition as their legitimate representative. The Council also stressed the need for a political transition. How does the Council believe this transition will happen? Is the EU helping to develop a workable, inclusive peace process in the region or are we again wringing our hands on the sidelines and watching with horror as the crisis unfolds and escalates?

The Council welcomed the actions of the Malian army and French forces in their mission to restore the integrity and authority of the Malian state. Is the EU listening to the needs and concerns of the Tuareg population of north Mali? Are their political, social and political grievances being taken into account by EU leaders and what plans are in place to stop their repression by the state? While secular Tuaregs say they want to take part in the fight to liberate the north, they have essentially been told to shut up and pushed to the side by other elements. Experts and reports from the region suggest that the next move by Islamic militants will be to try to blend into the population and launch a bloody conflict. If this is the case, it will be very painful and bloody for everyone involved. Experts and locals have been very vocal on this in recent months and believe militants have been making tunnels in the region. While it will be easy enough for French forces to move in, the question is what will happen afterwards. That is the big concern.

It was not mentioned by the European Council. Maybe the Tánaiste will go into this in more detail. Should the immediate strategy be to focus on pressurising the governing junta in Mali to step down while bringing the secular Tuareg into the fold in the north?

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