Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 8, inclusive, together.

I attended the European Council on 28 June and the informal meeting of 27 Heads of State and Government on 29 June. The focus of both meetings was on the outcome of the UK referendum which took place on 23 June. The European Council also considered, relatively briefly, a number of other issues, including migration, the Single Market, investment, economic and monetary union, taxation, agriculture, Libya, the EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, EU-NATO co-operation, and the association agreement with Ukraine. In an exchange on trade, I stressed that the Commission should continue to work towards agreeing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP, deal with the United States. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, attended the meeting on Tuesday, where all member states expressed regret at the outcome of the referendum but respect for the democratic decision of the UK electorate.

At the meeting of the 27 leaders, it was agreed that there could be no negotiations until Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union was triggered, and that, while this will not happen immediately, it should take place as soon as possible. The negotiations are likely to take at least two years and, in the meantime, the UK remains a full member of the Union.

On the separate question of the future relationship between the UK and the EU, the UK side has yet to clarify what it wants. There will be many complex and technical issues to consider. British politics are in a turbulent phase and we will have to await the election of a new Prime Minister before the UK approach becomes clearer. The 27 leaders clarified that the European Council would direct the process, but the Commission and the European Parliament will also play important roles.

At the meeting, I spoke about our long history with the UK, including the Northern Ireland peace process and our common entry to the EU in 1973. I outlined our specific interests, including Northern Ireland, the common travel area and trade. We have been emphasising these points to our EU partners for some time and they are widely understood.

Our overall interests lie in a stable, prosperous and outward-looking UK. The closer its future relationship is with the EU, the better from our perspective. We will need to ensure in due course that the negotiating mandate - which has to be given by the member states, including Ireland - will reflect our specific concerns.

See this speech in context