Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The founding of what is today the European Union was one of the most important and positive developments in modern history. It is right that we take time to mark this every year, both in the Oireachtas and wider society. There is a strong case for a significant increase in the level of public commemoration of the Union’s foundation. The problem is that far too much time is spent on worthy statements about past achievements and nowhere near enough time is spent on ensuring that the Union tackles the problems of today. Praising the Union’s founders but ignoring the urgent lessons their actions have for us is an absurd but far too real part of what is happening throughout Europe this week.

The European Union was born out of a time of unprecedented crisis. A conflict-torn continent had witnessed unthinkable barbarity. It had no idea how to stop the cycle of violence and promote a cycle of development. The founding principles of Schuman and others were deeply radical because they liberated Europe from an insular, narrow and ultimately aggressive model of nationhood. They promoted the idea that only by working together in close union could states serve their citizens effectively. They proposed that in place of conflict, a new spirit of co-operation could deliver far more. They have been proved right time and again.

The Government’s reluctance to acknowledge the work of governments and movements not from their own party traditions is now well established. It is a pity that this has meant there has been no proper marking of the 40th anniversary of the negotiation and accession of Ireland as a member of the then European Economic Community. It was an exceptional generation of political leaders and public servants who secured our membership. They did so not because it was inevitable but because they deeply understood the vital importance for Ireland’s development of membership of a strong community of European nations. They both understood and welcomed the forces of modernisation which would be unleashed. They did not sit still, take anything for granted or expect that the work was over; rather, they immediately set about helping to build the Union.

We should particularly note the work of our first Commissioner, Dr. Patrick Hillery. Having capped a brilliant career as a reforming Minister and a signatory of the Treaty of Rome with the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, he went to Brussels with the intention of making an impact, something which he succeeded in doing in only a very short period. He created the European Social Fund and pushed forward large amounts of progressive legislation to ensure that social objectives were promoted hand-in-hand with economic ones. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of politicians of other parties in the early years of our membership. In particular, we should remember the work of former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and his then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Garret FitzGerald. They initiated the formal approach to Presidencies in terms of work programmes and co-ordinated Council meetings, which grew steadily over the years. In addition, they presided over the crucial final negotiating session of the Helsinki Final Act, which remains a powerful statement of the primacy of human rights, respect and peaceful coexistence in Europe.

As we look back today on the founding years of both the Union and our membership of it, it is impossible not to see the difference in the approach of Europe’s leaders then and now. Quite simply, none of the great successes of the Union could have been possible if the approach of today’s leaders had been followed. There is none of the bold vision and absolutely none of deep solidarity which built the Union. Today’s leaders, in their lack of urgency and ambition, are betraying the spirit of the Union and presiding over a dangerous erosion of its foundations. Anyone who cares about the Union, who wants to move from crisis management to addressing the real and growing needs of its citizens, has every reason to be alarmed. We are now in the fifth year of the largest crisis to face the Union since the Treaty of Rome was agreed. Some 26 million European citizens are unemployed and economic forecasts are being cut, with much of Europe returning to recession. Extreme nationalism is on the rise in many countries.

The basic freedoms which have been at the core of European co-operation for decades are under threat, with new limits on the free movement of people and capital being introduced or debated. The common currency shared by the majority of states and citizens is losing its popular legitimacy and maintains design flaws which are directly responsible for problems faced by many countries, including Ireland. It is now almost six months since the Prime Minister of Britain set up the choice between destroying the fabric of EU social protections or leaving the Union. Today his office has announced the intention to unilaterally introduce restrictions on the employment rights of EU citizens.

What has been the response to these rising challenges to the foundations of the European Union? It has been to hold crisis summits, issue worthy communiqués but ultimately to do nothing. A policy of waiting until the last possible moment before doing the minimum possible to muddle through has made the crisis much worse. This cannot go on. Without an urgent and ambitious agenda, the European Union may well be fatally damaged, returning Europe to the failed model of competing blocs. The first thing that needs to be done is for leaders to start defending the core principles of national and social solidarity as the only way forward for sustainable economic progress. One of the many bad developments of recent years has been how the terms of debate set by anti-European Union forces have not been challenged. The agenda, to which many countries, including Ireland, signed up last year, is one which emphasises free trade above all. What no one has done is reassert the central role in common standards in ensuring social progress is not undermined in the pursuit of the economic gains which free trade can bring.

The entire point of the European Union is that countries agree to stop the race to the bottom and ensure fair wages and decent conditions can be secured as part of expanding economies and fair competition. If no one is defending this, how can we expect to stand against the British Tory Party agenda of hollowing out the Union in the name of competitiveness? Yes, the Commission and the Parliament often propose measures which could damage fair competition and successful industries and they maintain an unfounded obsession with harmonising taxes. Equally, they are too slow to recognise when standards of employment protection are high. We should absolutely reject the idea that this is what defines the Union. The bulk of its work is about increasing opportunities for companies and individuals to grow, while protecting the working conditions and interests of workers. If we are sincere in believing the Union has a role to play in helping countries to develop and overcome this deep crisis, we should also assert the need for it to have a budget which gives it a chance to do this. The current budget represents less than 1% of Europe’s economy. There is simply no way it can play a significant role in responding to the catastrophic employment situation with the current budget, one which the Council is now seeking to actually cut. Europe’s citizens consistently state the Union should be playing a major part in tackling unemployment, yet it is denied the means of fulfilling this role. What is worse is that leaders continue to make inflated claims about action which do nothing but generate new cynicism. A classic example of this is action on youth unemployment, where the initiative agreed with much fanfare in February and which has been promoted since by the Taoiseach as a breakthrough amounts to exactly €122 each year for each young unemployed person. Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn has rightly talked about how European action on research is central to long-term economic growth and produced excellent strategies to move it forward, yet the budget proposed by the Council for this area is due to be cut by 11%. This is unacceptable in an area that is central to job creation. Whether it be through new revenue raising powers or otherwise, the European Union desperately needs a budget which can help it to fulfil the role of active promoter of economic development, particularly in helping regions with high unemployment levels and limited scope to provide a stimulus.

History shows that the Common Agricultural Policy, today under sustained attack, should be viewed as one of the great successes of collective action. A continent once known for regular food shortages has achieved food security for over half a century. Just as importantly, the European Union has provided essential supports for rural life and the improvement of the rural environment. Balanced social and economic developments and the good of society as a whole require that rural communities receive direct support. We all benefit from this and we will all suffer if the anti-CAP agenda continues. It should not be seen as the first port of call when money is needed for other programmes. The 10% cut being pushed by the Council will directly undermine one of the few areas in which the European Union has a comprehensive and effective policy.

In addition to defending the founding principles and programmes of the European Union, we need an urgent agenda of reform to address flaws which continue to do immense damage. As the Taoiseach admits when he is not playing domestic politics, Ireland has suffered significantly because of flawed and inflexible EU policies, particularly in the period 2009-10. It is now widely accepted that the failure to have any funding support available for countries and the refusal to allow either the winding-up of institutions or the writing-down of debts drove Ireland and Portugal from the bond markets and has inflated their debts. The justice of Ireland’s case for further significant relief from the burden of bank-related debts remains both strong and unanswered. Beyond this, the need to address the core flaws in the design of the euro is more obvious and more urgent than ever. We need a central bank which is concerned with more than the erratic pursuit of an artificial inflation target. The maintenance of high employment and living standards is the reason for the European Union and the euro and this should be reflected in the mandate of the European Central Bank. We also need a banking union which is strong enough to return confidence to the financial sector and lending to hard-pressed employers.

These and other essential reforms cannot happen unless countries commit themselves to a reform of the European Union which is true to its founding spirit and ambitious enough to tackle today’s urgent problems. This cannot happen if leaders continue to remain quiet as traditional anti-European Union forces step up their work to scapegoat it for every problem and to hammer away at its very foundations.

For our part, Ireland has to end its policy of standing on the sidelines. We cannot be neutral in the choice between a union of social and economic co-operation and one which has been hollowed out to become little more than a free trade area. It is long past time for the Government to set out its policy for the future of the European Union. The reasonable tradition of this House is that we do not directly comment on the work of the President. As such, I will use other opportunities to explain why I strongly welcome his recent comments on the future of Europe. At the same time, it must be pointed out that the Tánaiste is entirely wrong when he says the Government’s policy reflects these comments. The Government has issued no overall policy statement on Europe. I have asked for this on a few dozen occasions in the past two years, but the response has always been to take each issue as it comes.

In regard to reform of the European Union, the stated policy has been to wait and see what is proposed. Ireland has gained enormously from its membership of the Union. However, it is gaining nothing from a failure to use its position to demand a more urgent and ambitious agenda to tackle this shared crisis. If we continue with this approach, the only thing that will happen is that the Union’s traditional enemies on both the right and the left will grow stronger in their work of trying to undermine it. Leaders across Europe need to live up to the potential and expectations of the citizens they serve and show more solidarity in these threatening economic circumstances. There are over 115 million citizens in or at the risk of poverty and social exclusion. This cannot be allowed to continue, particularly this year which has been dedicated as European Year of Citizens.

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