Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 17, inclusive, together.

I had a constructive meeting with President Macron in Paris on 24 October last. Our exchanges covered bilateral relations, the Brexit negotiations and the future of Europe. We were each accompanied by a small team of officials and advisers. The meeting provided a welcome opportunity to review the strong bilateral relations between Ireland and France, which is an important economic partner for us. Bilateral trade in goods and services between Ireland and France is worth approximately €2 billion every month. This is a solid platform on which to build and strengthen into the future, especially as Ireland looks to grow and diversify its markets. We discussed our co-operation in other areas, including Ireland's contribution to the EU training mission in Mali. We expressed our joint commitment to the planned Celtic interconnector, which will link our electricity networks, improve our connectivity and support export-driven development of Ireland's renewable sector. This represents the future-oriented agenda we both want to deliver.

President Macron and I welcomed the progress achieved to date in the Brexit negotiations between the EU and the UK and the more constructive tone of Prime Minister May in light of her recent speech in Florence. We agreed that further work is required on the three withdrawal issues - the rights of EU citizens, the UK financial settlement and the Irish-specific issues - before the European Council can decide that sufficient progress has been made to move onto the second phase of the negotiations, which will deal with the future relationship and the transition arrangements. I thanked President Macron for his understanding and strong support with regard to Irish-specific issues like the common travel area and all the rights associated with it, the Good Friday Agreement and the Border. I took the opportunity to update him on relevant developments. We agreed that the 27 member states must remain united. We expressed our shared hope that it will be possible to make further progress in the coming months.

France and Ireland are long-standing partners at EU level, particularly in the area of agriculture. We work together to protect rural communities and family farms. On Mercosur, we agreed on the need to protect our vital interests, especially in beef and agriculture, while opening up new export opportunities for our companies. President Macron and I agreed to stay in close contact on the situation in this regard as it evolves. As partners and friends, we are ready to discuss issues on which we do not necessarily agree, such as how best to tax Internet firms so that they pay their fair share. I outlined our view that this is a global issue which should be addressed at a global level and that the best way to achieve a successful outcome is to support the work that is under way at the OECD.

More generally, President Macron and I agreed on the enormous potential of the digital economy and the need to ensure Europe provides the right economic environment for it to flourish. We want to see a dynamic and innovative entrepreneurial climate, with vibrant European companies scaling successfully on international markets. President Macron has brought a renewed energy to the debate about the future of Europe. We agreed that Europe needs to demonstrate the capacity to adapt to meet the challenges of the future, such as the digital revolution, the banking union, climate change, migration and security and defence. As I outlined to the House in my statement after the October European Council, there is a clear willingness among the 27 EU leaders to increase the pace of discussions on this issue while maintaining unity. We will continue our discussions at the social summit in Gothenburg on Friday during a lunch organised by President Tusk.

In looking to the future, I outlined to President Macron my view that we need to focus on areas in which Europe can have a concrete and positive impact on the lives of citizens, including jobs, growth and investment in the digital Single Market and the Single Market itself. We discussed our respective plans to bring the debate on Europe to the public through the citizens' dialogue and other mechanisms. This is extremely important because other more extreme and divisive voices will gain traction unless we can offer an honest, positive and compelling agenda. My meeting with President Macron was followed by a business event organised by the Irish Embassy in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Bord Bia. This provided a useful opportunity to meet a range of Irish and French companies across a number of sectors and to discuss the opportunities and challenges that arise for business.

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