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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 17, inclusive, together.

I travelled to Berlin on 20 March for a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of my strategic engagement with our European partners. We discussed preparations for the March European Council, including Brexit, trade, Economic and Monetary Union, EMU, and the tax challenges of digitalisation. I also took the opportunity to congratulate the Chancellor on her recent re-election for the fourth time.

On Brexit, we welcomed the previous day's agreement between the task force and the United Kingdom that a backstop for the Irish Border, agreed to in December, would have to be legally operative in the withdrawal agreement, to apply unless and until an alternative solution was agreed to. I took the opportunity to thank the Chancellor for her ongoing support and solidarity for our unique concerns arising from Brexit, especially the need to protect the Good Friday Agreement and ensure there would no be hard border on the island of Ireland.

I updated the Chancellor on my meeting with President Trump in Washington the previous week. As representatives of countries that both support free and fair trade, we shared concerns about the President's approach to steel and aluminium tariffs and looked forward to clarification on the exemption process for the European Union, which was forthcoming later that week.

On Economic and Monetary Union, we agreed on the importance of ongoing work by Finance Ministers, with a view to decisions in June in areas where agreement was strongest such as completing banking union and further developing the European Stability Mechanism.

On the tax challenges of digitalisation, we agreed that all companies, including large digital platforms, should pay their fair share of tax based on where value was created, not simply where a transaction happened. We will continue to engage actively with ongoing work at both Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, and EU level. I highlighted my concern that unilateral EU action had the potential to damage EU competitiveness and disadvantage smaller member states and also that it might result in a retaliatory response from the United States. We did not have a broader discussion about corporate tax rates, which are clearly a matter of national competence. Ireland's 12.5% rate is long-standing Government policy and remains the centrepiece of our competitive tax offering. The Chancellor and I agreed more generally that Europe must adopt a positive approach to digitalisation and that our approach should not be insular. That means a digital Single Market that is open, competitive and innovation-friendly, with high levels of protection for personal privacy and the free flow of non-personal data.

Our exchanges also covered bilateral relations, which are excellent. I look forward to the further strengthening of this relationship in the period ahead as we tackle the urgent demands of Brexit and play our part in shaping the European Union's response to new challenges and opportunities. This work will be guided by the comprehensive review of relations between Ireland and Germany that was published by the Tánaiste last Thursday. It is entitled, Ireland and Germany, A Wider and Deeper Footprint.

I also met the Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, on Easter Sunday for a brief courtesy call. As well as discussing the mayor's programme in Ireland, we discussed Brexit and political and economic developments in Ireland and the United States. After that, he attended the Leinster game in the Aviva Stadium as my guest.

Forthcoming visits include a speaking engagement in the university in Leuven on 26 April; the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 17 May; and the European Council in Brussels on 28 and 29 June. A number of other visits are also envisaged. They will be announced once they are confirmed.

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