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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 12, inclusive, together.

I will attend a series of European Council meetings in a range of formats in Brussels tomorrow and Friday.

I will of course report back to the House as usual after the European Council.

The draft agenda for the main meeting consists of security and defence issues, including permanent structured co-operation, PESCO, and social, educational and cultural matters, where we expect a report on the recent Gothenburg social summit and the proclamation of the European pillar of social rights. Foreign policy issues may also be raised.

The President of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, will also chair further discussions on the future of Europe as part of his leaders' agenda, which will include discussion on migration and economic and monetary union, EMU. We will also discuss the future of EMU at a euro summit on 15 December, in an inclusive format involving all 27 remaining member states.

Ireland is very supportive of President Tusk's task force and its efforts to drive forward the debate on the future of Europe and I look forward to a very constructive exchange of views.

The European Council will also meet in Article 50 format on Friday to consider the Brexit negotiations. Following long and intensive negotiations over the past weeks we have reached a satisfactory conclusion on the issues relating to Ireland in phase one. We have achieved all we set out to achieve in phase one of the negotiations: to maintain the common travel area, to protect the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and the gains of the peace process and to avoid a hard border. We have the assurances and guarantees we need from the United Kingdom and support for them from the European Union. The parameters have been set and they are agreeable.

Irish issues were one of three critical areas that needed to be dealt with in these talks, before the EU and the UK could proceed to phase 2 issues on the shape of the future relationship and possible transitional arrangements. Given the view of the EU’s lead negotiator, Michel Barnier, that sufficient progress has been achieved, the European Council is expected to decide on moving to the second phase. I meet and speak regularly with my EU counterparts, including Chancellor Merkel, bilaterally and at formal and informal meetings of the European Council and I use every opportunity to advance Ireland's interests. The support of all our EU partners has been strong, consistent and essential in ensuring that the unique challenges we face on the island of Ireland as a result of the UK's withdrawal from the EU are dealt with. I emphasised the need for firm commitments from the UK that a hard border will be avoided under whatever new arrangements are arrived at, recognising the unique circumstances of the island of Ireland, its history and its geography.

As he made clear in his public remarks after our recent meeting, President Tusk is unequivocal in his support for Ireland and the need to ensure that there will be no hard border. I took the opportunity at the meeting to thank President Tusk for his strong and unwavering solidarity since the very beginning of the process. I also spoke by phone to Commission President Juncker in relation to the EU-UK negotiations on Brexit, in particular the outline of an EU-UK agreement which would allow us to move to the second phase of negotiations. President Juncker was also fully supportive for Ireland's position in this context. I spoke with Prime Minister May a number of times during the week beginning Monday, 4 December. I underlined that the UK’s exit from the EU must not in any way undermine the peace process or give rise to the reintroduction of a border on the island of Ireland. I met Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands in Dublin on 6 December. I expressed my gratitude for his continued solidarity on the Irish-specific issues in relation to Brexit. We also discussed the future of Europe, the strong bilateral relationship between our two countries and the strengthening of our alliances within the EU. As two countries that neighbour the United Kingdom we spoke about the shape and format of a new EU-UK agreement.

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