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

Standing on the sidelines waiting to run on to the pitch to claim the victory has meant that Ireland has played, and continues to play, no significant role in shaping vital policies. In fact, the Government is so determined to avoid any debate that we constantly have to turn to Brussels to get basic information on Ireland's position.

Many of the vital foundations of the European Union are under threat. Equally, core policies have failed and need to be reformed. Progress is impossible so long as countries such as Ireland stand on the sidelines and refuse to even state their proposals. Europe's enemies on the right and left, as well as those in countries which want to undermine it, are willing to use any tactic and any argument to damage it. A gradualist, business-as-usual approach is not working and will not work in the future. Perhaps most fundamentally we have been clear about the values for which Europe must stand. Without setting this as a foundation which we will always defend, anything could happen.

At the core of co-operation between European states must always be an absolute commitment to democracy and the respect of human rights. Europe and its states are not, and never have been, perfect but this region has a right to point to over seven decades during which it has shown a commitment to democracy and human rights which far outstrips that shown in any other region in the world. Those who like to constantly attack Europe, particularly the extreme right and left, like nothing more than coming up with false comparisons and nonsense such as "How can you criticise when your record isn't perfect?". Europe must not allow the pressure of undoubted crises to move it away from its values. The strength of these values is most eloquently seen in the fact that so many people see it as a haven from conflict and repression. Chancellor Merkel has played a progressive and humane role in this crisis thus far. I hope that her speech this weekend does not mark a significant change in her policies.

She is entirely wrong when she accepts the idea that multiculturalism is somehow a myth or threat.

One of the most important developments we have seen as a society is understanding the need to embrace cultural diversity. The positive parts of Europe's history have all been based on the mixing of cultures to develop new ones. The idea of fixed historical cultures has no basis in reality and has caused immense destruction in the past. Our response to the current pressures exerted by migration will play a major part in defining whether we are true to our values or if we will allow the extremes to distort them.

It is clear that there is not unlimited capacity to provide for any person who wants to come to Europe. However, we have an undoubted duty to provide humanitarian refuge. Whether one bases it on Christian or other religious beliefs or on a humanistic approach, this is the litmus test. The grotesque campaigns seen in France, Hungary and other countries to scapegoat people from minority or new groups must be resisted in every way possible. They cannot be resisted by adopting their logic. We should note the courageous and successful effort of Prime Minister Valls to stop the Front National from winning in any region last weekend. Both he and President Hollande put principles ahead of party in a way that, unfortunately, others did not.

At the summit tomorrow political decisions will be taken on establishing a border force. This issue has little direct impact on Ireland owing to our non-membership of the Schengen area. The Schengen project is one which its members value, but they equally have collective responsibilities relating to borders. It is difficult to see how a force of 1,500 guards which may move from place to place will address any significant problem. The true focus should remain on addressing the reasons people are fleeing their homes in the first place. If we stand by while families are forced to live in refugee camps with few facilities and no future, of course, they will continue to flee. Our first and absolute priority must be to help people to return quickly to their homes and provide them with support before they feel the need to undertake a perilous journey in search of basic prospects for the future. If the new proposal goes ahead, it will shift the funding balance from humanitarian aid to enforcement. This is something we should not support. Ireland should argue for an increase in humanitarian aid without any diversion from other important programmes and with the border proposal being financed by new and additional means. Equally, we should not drop basic requirements for Turkey in order to win its assistance on this issue.

Since he assumed the Presidency of the Council, Donald Tusk has adopted a very important departure in organising summits. His private and public communications with leaders are defined by a new openness and honesty about difficulties. I welcome his decision to be open about the difficulties being faced in the negotiations with the British Government. His pre-Council letter shows that progress has been marginal and, on the tricky issues, Britain continues to make demands which should be unacceptable. The proposal to ban welfare supports for EU migrants for four years is tabloid-pandering of the worst type. It answers a problem which they have yet to demonstrate is encountered. It also has direct threats for Ireland. It is impossible to see how we could continue to support current policies with each country being

open in terms of welfare payments to our citizens, while being denied to citizens of all other countries. Leaving aside the wider point of the regular movement of workers back and forth across the Irish Sea, across the Border it would have potentially enormous implications. I hope this is something the Taoiseach has reviewed because it is not a point he has yet publicly acknowledged.

Prime Minister Cameron's demand for a veto on eurozone-specific policies is also a huge concern, one about which we need to hear more in terms of specifics. On the face of it, a demand to veto co-operation between other member states is extraordinary. The bigger issue is that many of the reforms required to make the eurozone more effective could be stopped and we would end up with the worst of all worlds.

There is to be a brief discussion on Economic and Monetary Union on the agenda. Reconciling the contradictions between this discussion and the demands of the British Government is something which must be done but which is not acknowledged in the Taoiseach's public statements.

No doubt when we reach February, the Taoiseach's staff will roll out a PR campaign to claim that he is driving negotiations and having important discussions with the leaders of the largest countries. There is no reason to believe a five-year policy of spin leading everything will disappear between now and February. As a country, we cannot afford an approach whereby we which simply stand by and accept whatever emerges. We have a national interest in seeing Britain remain in the European Union. We also have a national interest in reforming the European Union to make it work better. We need a Union which shows ambition and urgency in tackling rising problems, not one which has been emasculated and retreats towards simply being a single market. It will be a gross disservice to the Irish people if we do not have more openness and engagement on this issue.

The summit is due to discuss the extension of sanctions against Russia. The lifting of the sanctions has been predicated on full implementation of the Minsk Accords, which has not happened. Russia continues to have troops on sovereign Ukrainian territory. It continues to deny Ukraine the right to control its own borders. It has also begun to escalate the economic intimidation of Ukraine. The unilateral cancellation of gas agreements is a serious indication of more to come. It seems obvious that Russia's intervention to save the Assad regime and its aggressive stance on Syria are designed in part to force others to ignore Ukraine. Nicholas Sarkozy's visit to Moscow two weeks ago and his statement that we should forget about sanctions against Russia were shameful, as are the efforts of others to sacrifice Ukraine in the interests of commercial and political expediency. The invasion, partition and undermining of a neighbouring state is a practice which can never be rewarded. I hope the Government will stand with Ukraine and insist on these sanctions being maintained. Anything else would be shameful.

The summit is due to discuss the related issue of energy union. With the breakthrough in the climate negotiations, we need an energy union which is ambitious enough to ensure Europe will meet and exceeds its emissions goals. This cannot happen if we allow countries to act unilaterally and create infrastructure which undermines solidarity and leaves Europe open to blackmail by increasingly authoritarian countries.

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