Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 35, inclusive, together.

I participated in the European Council on 19 and 20 December last. As Members will be aware, however, since then I have also participated in an extraordinary meeting of Heads of State and Government on Ukraine on 6 March, as well as the spring European Council on 20 and 21 March, where the deeply disturbing situation in Ukraine was again the dominant issue. I will start with our most recent meeting before I go back to the December Council. The extraordinary meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels on 6 March condemned the unprovoked violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and called on the Russian Federation to withdraw immediately its armed forces. We agreed on a three-phase roadmap of measures that would be taken against the Russian Federation, depending on its actions. The deteriorating situation and the Russian annexation of Crimea was, of course, a central focus at the spring European Council last week. In the absence of any steps towards de-escalation by Russia, the European Council took additional measures against Moscow. We decided to cancel the next EU-Russia summit and agreed to expand to 33 the number of listed individuals to be subject to a visa ban and asset freezes. In addition the European Commission was asked to evaluate the legal consequences of the annexation and to prepare possible targeted measures. The question of the nature and scope of measures is always a complex and difficult issue and, as I stated in Brussels, inevitably will have negative economic consequences for the EU, including Ireland, as well as for Russia. It is only right, therefore, that we prepare such decisions carefully. The political elements of the EU's association agreement with Ukraine were also signed at last week's meeting. We welcomed, in addition, the Ukrainian Government's commitment to ensuring that governmental structures are inclusive and reflect regional diversity and to ensure full protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

Of course, the agenda for last week's meeting was wider than Ukraine alone. It had an economic focus and covered the European semester, Europe 2020, industrial competitiveness, banking union, taxation, climate change and energy and external relations.

Banking union remains a clear priority for the Government. My colleagues and I were particularly pleased last week to welcome the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the single resolution mechanism, which will be a cornerstone of that banking union. We now must see the formal adoption of the mechanism before the European Parliament rises for elections. The European Council held useful discussions on the European semester, the planned review of the Europe 2020 strategy and industrial competitiveness. We agreed on the importance of ensuring the right overall framework to promote a strong and competitive industrial base to drive economic growth and jobs.

Leaders also held a first policy debate on the framework for climate and energy to 2030. We agreed on the urgent need to further analyse the implications for member states of proposals for emissions reductions and renewable energy. I made clear that for Ireland, account must be taken of the particular role of agriculture, and the President of the Council was reassuring on this aspect. The European Council will take stock of progress on these issues at its June meeting with a view to taking a final decision by October 2014.

The Council also tackled the issue of EU energy security, which has an added urgency in view of the Ukraine crisis. The Commission has been asked by June 2014 to prepare a detailed analysis of this as well as a comprehensive plan to reduce the EU's energy dependence. I will report to the House on the European Council tomorrow and I look forward to addressing the situation in Ukraine, as well as some other agenda items, in more detail.

I will return for a moment to the December European Council, the subject of a question here, which had a lengthy agenda. It covered Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, economic and social policy, economic and monetary union, migration, enlargement and energy. For the first time since the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, the European Council held a thematic debate on defence. Extensive conclusions were reached, identifying priority actions for stronger co-operation. I reported in detail to the House on January 21 on the outcome of this debate, as well as the broader discussions among leaders. I do not propose to repeat this in detail here. The December European Council reviewed the economic situation and progress on banking union, as well as in implementing the compact for growth, jobs and competitiveness.

The meeting identified the main features of the partnerships for growth, jobs and competitiveness to support structural reform, with a view to concluding discussions by October next year.

The Council also addressed some of the main foreign policy issues, including the situation in Syria and the Central African Republic, as well as the Eastern Partnership, the situation in Ukraine and the WTO. The allegations of US National Security Agency surveillance were also discussed.

There was no discussion at the December European Council of Typhoon Haiyan which had struck the Philippines in November 2013. However, the European Commission and EU member states have allocated more than €178 million in humanitarian and early recovery assistance to the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. Ireland was one of the first countries to respond to the natural disaster. Following an initial allocation of €4 million, the Government last week, through the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Joe Costello, announced a further contribution of €3 million. The additional funding will support local efforts to build shelters and re-establish people's livelihoods, particularly in fishing and agriculture, and protection activities for those traumatised by the disaster.

While at the European Council meeting in December, I also had informal contacts with a number of colleagues. The House will be aware that I participated in a remembrance event in Messines on the morning of 19 December with Prime Minister Cameron. Again, I have reported separately to the House on this event.

Many of my colleagues on the European Council and from the Commission were in Dublin from 5 to 7 March for the European People's Party meeting. I had informal contacts with them at this event, as well as at the 6 March meeting on the situation in Ukraine and at last week's European Council. I was due to hold a working breakfast with President Barroso on the morning of 6 March, but it had to be postponed owing to the meeting on the situation in Ukraine and it was not possible to find an alternative time.

I had a meeting with Prime Minister Rajoy of Spain on the evening of 6 March which, again owing to the meeting on the situation in Ukraine, was postponed from earlier in the day. We discussed the economic situation in Europe, especially the challenge of youth unemployment, as well as SME financing, banking union, the Single Market, trade and energy. The Basque country was not discussed at the meeting and, as the Government has stated on many occasions, we continue to follow the situation closely, including the recent statement by the international verification body. We have repeatedly said we support any development that can lead to definitive peace in the Basque country and welcomed the declaration by ETA in that context. We continue to hope for further progress.

As Deputies will be aware, I also held bilateral consultations with German Chancellor Merkel in Government Buildings on 7 March. Over a working lunch, I updated the Chancellor on the economy and we took stock of progress on banking union and the issue of legacy bank debt. We also discussed preparations for the March European Council and the wider jobs and growth agenda, including the transatlantic trade and investment partnership.

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