Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has already indicated that I will provide some additional detail about the external relations issues for discussion at the European Council meeting tomorrow. I am honoured to do this in my new role as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, which I very much look forward to fulfilling with energy and a huge commitment. I thank Members for their well wishes.

The discussions on external relations are likely to include the Paris Agreement on climate change and updates on recent international summits, such as the EU meetings with the US and Turkey on 25 May, with Japan on 26 May and with China on 1 and 2 June. In their capacity as members of the Normandy group, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel will also provide an update on ongoing efforts to resolve tensions between Russia and Ukraine. It can be expected that much of the discussion will focus on EU relations with the US. Transatlantic co-operation is fundamental for stability, security and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. The US remains the EU's key strategic partner. The EU and its member states, including Ireland, have proactively engaged with the new administration in Washington DC to reaffirm commitment to this relationship. As part of this, President Donald Trump visited Brussels on 25 May and met with President Tusk and President Juncker. Although President Trump has been sceptical about the EU, the administration as a whole has projected a largely traditional and positive attitude towards the EU, starting with Vice President Pence's visit to Brussels in February of this year. While there are differences, in particular on climate change, there is also much common ground - for example, in areas of economic co-operation. Ireland's links with the US run very deep and span many centuries, as we saw recently with the St. Patrick's Day festivities in March. These links previously transcended any one point of difference. This close relationship should continue, and similarly, we will work to maintain the close relationships between the US and the EU.

EU-Turkey relations have been under considerable strain, in particular since the attempted coup last July and, more recently, political developments in Turkey. The European Council is likely to discuss the meeting with President Erdoğan last month, at which the EU highlighted the key issue of human rights. Turkey remains an important partner, including in managing migration, and the EU will continue to work with Turkey on all aspects of our relationship. Ireland fully supports the EU approach and agrees that it is critically important to keep the lines of communication open.

It has to be acknowledged that the EU relationship with Russia remains under particular strain. The illegal annexation of Crimea, the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the support of the Assad regime in Syria are among the most divisive issues. In the long term, a constructive and predictable relationship between the EU and Russia is desirable as a strategic goal. Ireland remains open to exploring engagement with Moscow in areas where dialogue would clearly be in the EU's interest. However, Russia does not appear to be interested in fostering a more constructive relationship at this time. In 2014, the EU imposed targeted economic sanctions against Russia in response to its actions on Ukraine. In the following year, EU leaders linked duration of these to the full implementation of the Minsk accords. The lack of progress in implementing the security and political provisions of the Minsk accords and Russia's failure to play a constructive role have led the Council to roll over the restrictive measures to the 31 July 2017 deadline. Ireland strongly believes that any relaxation of the EU sanctions can only be considered where there is clear evidence of the concrete progress we all wish to see on the ground in eastern Ukraine.

EU leaders are likely to discuss, as has been discussed here already, the Paris Agreement on climate change, which entered into force last November and which puts in place the framework for countries to take action to limit global warming to well below 2° centigrade above pre-industrial levels, and also to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°. The Paris Agreement has been signed by 195 parties, representing 194 states and the European Union. As of 13 June, it has been ratified by 148 of those parties. Together with our fellow member states of the EU and most other countries, we sincerely regret President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. We strongly believe that the agreement is fit for purpose and is not open for renegotiation. We will continue to work closely with our EU and international partners to ensure that the agreement becomes fully operational as soon as possible. The role of the EU as a global ambition leader will be to re-emphasise the agreement, through ambitious climate policies and through continued support for developing and climate-vulnerable countries.

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