Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The European Council will meet in Brussels tomorrow and Friday. As is traditional at the spring meeting, economic policy matters will be at the top the agenda. This will not be a crisis meeting, like so many in recent times, as there is now a degree of stability in the markets. As leaders, we must not let this lead to complacency or a loss of momentum; rather, we must make every effort to use this vital opportunity to underpin stability and drive forward the reforms that will deliver growth and jobs. That is the message I intent to bring to the meeting.

I will advocate that we place a firm focus on implementation of the many and varied measures we have already agreed to - implementation in terms of the economic surveillance involved with the European semester; implementation of our structural reforms and consolidation efforts; implementation of the compact for growth and jobs; implementation of our economic governance framework; implementation of what we have agreed to in addressing unemployment, completing the Single Market and introducing smarter regulation; and, critically, implementation of banking union. The meeting will be about implementation.

The European Union is facing a credibility test - we must show people that we are capable of standing by what we have agreed to and delivering what we have promised. Before I say more about the European Council, it might be useful for the House if I update it on progress on the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, even though it is not formally on the agenda on this occasion. Discussions at the European Council will be opened, as usual, by an address by the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Martin Schulz. He will come from this week's plenary meeting of the Parliament which will express its view on the agreement on the MFF reached by the European Council in February. There is a general expectation that the Parliament will vote in favour of a resolution calling on its negotiators to advance some of the issues of greatest importance to the Parliament such as flexibility, a mid-term review and own resources in the negotiations with the Council which Ireland, in holding the Presidency, will lead. I expect President Schulz to set out the Parliament's view in clear and forthright terms, which is as it should be. In my meetings with him I have reassured him that while our role is to represent the Council in the discussions ahead, we will work in good faith with him and his team in the interests of securing an agreement. This is very much in the best interests of the European Union and all of its institutions.

To better understand the Parliament's position, I plan to meet President Schulz and President Barroso on the margins of this week's meeting. It is important that we keep up momentum. While the agreement reached at the European Council last month was an important achievement, there cannot be an MFF without the assent of the Parliament. That is what we are working to secure and I look forward to keeping the House informed as we proceed. It is in everyone's interests that it is concluded during Ireland's Presidency.

As I mentioned, this week's meeting of the European Council will conclude the first phase of what is called the European Semester 2013. The key output in this regard will be guidance to member states on the preparation of member states' stability programme updates, under the Stability and Growth Pact, and national reform programmes, under the Europe 2020 strategy. The European semester process provides us with a basis for developing a shared appreciation of the priorities for action at both EU and national levels, as we seek to return to a path of sustainable and job-creating growth. The main EU-level focus is on supporting the development and implementation of jointly agreed priorities, while the main focus at member state level is on restoring competitiveness and bringing about a stronger alignment of budget priorities, employment policies and structural reforms. The effective management of the processes involved in the European Semester 2013 is an important priority for our Presidency of the Council.

The European Council this week will reinforce very strongly the five headline priorities of the annual growth survey, including in light of the Presidency Synthesis Report, which was presented by the Tánaiste to the General Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday of this week. This Synthesis Report reviews discussions on the annual growth survey across various formations of the Council and is firmly supportive of the annual growth survey's orientations for actions by member states supporting competitiveness, growth and jobs. This means pursuing differentiated, growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; restoring normal lending to the economy; promoting growth and competitiveness for now and into the future; tackling unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis; and modernising public administration. It is critical that we maintain the momentum behind national level reforms in these areas, underpinned by the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy - supporting growth that is smart, sustainable and inclusive.

I expect that our discussions in Brussels will also be informed by the recent agreement by EPSCO Ministers on the principles of the youth guarantee. Getting consensus here was an important Presidency achievement and, as the House is aware, this deals with unemployment and employment process for young people in particular. While we work to put in place conditions necessary to support a general recovery in economic activity, we must also ensure responses from our education and training systems that are effective and appropriate to changing labour market conditions. This means supporting employability, including through new partnerships with the workplace. There are currently 7.5 million young people across Europe who are not in employment, education or training. This represents approximately 13%of our fellow Europeans, aged between 15 and 24. This is simply unacceptable. To deal with that the European Council must act urgently. It has been clearly shown that youth unemployment can have lifelong effects, and everybody knows this. That is why we need to grapple with this challenge now through the rapid implementation of the youth guarantee as a key vehicle for mobilising support in this area. The youth guarantee is but one step towards addressing this problem, and I intend to insist that we build on this first step. As the House is aware, the European Council put a figure of €6 billion into the MFF for youth employment and to deal with youth unemployment over the course of the period to 2020. The overall objective of the guarantee schemes is to provide young people with better prospects for their future by ensuring that supports are available to them to enter the labour market. While acknowledging that different member states face very different implementation issues, I expect that progress will be supported by the youth employment initiative of €6 billion which was endorsed by the Council in February.

I look forward also to co-chairing the Tripartite Social Summit tomorrow morning in Brussels. This is an important meeting with social partners at EU level and will provide a welcome opportunity to discuss with representatives of trades unions and of business the central issues in meeting the challenges of recovery. We will also exchange views on the social dimension of EMU, including social dialogue.

This week's European Council will also take stock of progress in implementing the compact for growth and jobs. This means, in particular, EU-level actions that will support the more country-specific orientations of the European semester process.

Our Presidency results, in pressing ahead with the Single Market, will directly contribute to this debate. As holders of the Presidency, we are prioritising agreement on the key Single Market Act I files that are ready for delivery. We regard as essential priorities key files such as accounting, professional qualifications recognition, public procurement, posting of workers and e-identification and e-signature - some of these are quite complex. At the same time we are aiming for as much progress as possible on key Single Market Act II files, as these are published over coming months. I look forward to this week's meeting of leaders highlighting progress on the Single Market, as a concrete means of driving growth and job creation. Importantly, this year for the first time, we will have the monitoring of Single Market happening within the framework of the European semester process, and this is an important further step.

I expect that we will also look at the idea of smart regulation, with a view to a reduction in the overall burden of regulation, particularly on SMEs, which lie at the heart of domestic demand and sustainable job creation. That is why for instance the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, is changing the situation here to provide that by the year end there will be one portal for application for licences in respect of doing business in Ireland in particular sectors.

The financing needs of the real economy are a further crucial focus in terms of EU-level actions supporting growth and jobs. This means restoring normal lending conditions and unlocking productive and growth-enhancing investments. To this end, I expect the European Investment Bank, EIB, will continue to play a crucial role, especially as with the recent increase of €10 billion in the ElB's capital, and this will allow the bank to lend an extra €60 billion to support jobs and growth.

This week's European Council will take stock of the ongoing work on the strengthening of the economic and monetary union, or EMU as it is referred to, which President Van Rompuy was tasked with following up on by leaders last December.

President Van Rompuy and his office are currently conducting a process of broad consultation with a view to him presenting a road map, as it is called, to the June European Council. As holders of the Presidency, we are cooperating closely with President Van Rompuy in this work, including through the facilitation of discussion among Ministers across a range of relevant formations of the Council. It is true to say that as we take further steps to strengthen economic governance and EMU more generally, these will certainly need to be accompanied by steps aimed at strengthening democratic accountability and legitimacy. To ignore this issue, or to underestimate its importance, would weaken the exercise, but we must also be careful to ensure that as we move ahead we do so on the basis of recognised value being added. I do not believe in change for change's sake. We have achieved a lot to date but that must be put in place before we move ahead. Even more importantly, we must keep our people with us as we strengthen EMU. The European Council will return to these issues for a broader discussion at its meeting in June.

This week's summit meeting will again address the important issue of an integrated financial framework - or banking union. The Irish Presidency is giving top priority to progressing the legislative files in this area. I am pleased to say that the Irish Presidency won broad political support at ECOFIN earlier this month for the compromise package reached with the European Parliament on the capital requirements directive, or CRD IV as it is referred to, and we will now work to iron out the remaining technical issues with a view to reaching a final agreement by the end of this month. That is an important advance in its own right.

On the single supervisory mechanism, we are working intensively with the Parliament, with a view to finalising the legislative process here within the next few weeks. We are also working hard also to see the operational framework for the direct recapitalisation of banks by the ESM finalised by the end of our Presidency. Nationally, of course, this issue takes on particular significance for Ireland, given that it will also address the issue of the definition of what constitutes legacy assets.

As Presidency, we are also striving to ensure that agreement is reached on the bank recovery and resolution directive and on the deposit guarantee scheme directive by the end of June. We look forward also to the submission by the Commission of a legislative proposal on a single resolution mechanism by this summer. The agreement last June to break the link between sovereign and banking debt was a watershed moment in the crisis. In December, we set ourselves ambitious timelines for achieving the various pieces of legislation that are necessary to underpin that commitment. We now need to keep the pressure up for delivery. We cannot afford either complacency or loss of momentum.

Tomorrow night, following the European Council's working dinner session on the European semester and economic issues, the 17 euro area leaders will convene for a euro area summit meeting.

The President of the ECB, Mario Draghi, will introduce the discussion on developments in the euro area. As well as considering those ongoing challenges, leaders will also adopt a set of rules of procedure for future euro area summits. We will complete our discussions of economic matters on Thursday evening. On Friday, the European Council will discuss the EU's strategic relationships, particularly its relationship with Russia.

EU Foreign Affairs Ministers, including the Tánaiste, took part in a broad-ranging discussion on the relationship with Russia at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday of this week and the key elements of that will inform our discussion. This is a timely opportunity to discuss this as there is a shared understanding in the EU of the need to fashion a stronger, more coherent approach to Russia, to the benefit of both sides. One of the key themes running through recent discussions on Russia has been the extent to which the EU and Russia work together, in terms of mutual trade and investment, in our energy relations and as partners in international fora, in the pursuit of peace and security.

The simple facts are that the EU is Russia's largest trading partner and Russia is the EU's largest energy supplier. That is an important consideration given the global changes in energy sources and pricing. This relationship has been further enhanced by a complex institutional framework enabling both sides to engage in regular political dialogue - indeed Russia is the only partner with which the EU holds a summit in each Presidency. The EU and Russia also co-operate effectively on critical foreign policy issues, including Afghanistan, counter-terrorism and the Middle East peace process. As in any important relationship, however, there are issues where we see eye to eye and issues where our interests, and indeed the values that define those interests, can differ very much.

The EU and its member states have in the past year expressed regret and concern about internal developments in Russia that have challenged the ambitions of those who would wish to see a further growth in political pluralism, and at the level of the individual, in personal freedom and freedom of expression. These concerns are also likely to be discussed at the European Council, including the challenge of how best to communicate these concerns to our Russian partners in a frank and constructive manner.

In our Presidency, as a member of the Council, and nationally I intend to play a fully engaged and constructive part during the deliberations on each of the agenda points at this week's summit meeting. As I said at the beginning of this short contribution, a push on implementation will be an important outcome of this week's meeting. To date Ireland, and the officials working for Ireland, have achieved quite a deal. We would like to think that by the end of our Presidency in June we will have again delivered, as have all other governments who have held the Presidency, a really effective Presidency in the interests of this country and of the Union as a whole. I will, of course, report back to the House, when appropriate, after this meeting of the European Council.

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