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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 7, inclusive, together.

I was pleased to welcome the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr. Charles Michel, to Government Buildings on Thursday, 24 May, where we had a constructive and friendly meeting.

Belgium and Ireland have excellent bilateral relations, including strong trade relations. We are also like-minded on many EU issues and we discussed how to further intensify our co-operation across the EU agenda.

This is particularly important in light of the debate on the future of Europe, where both of us are positive and ambitious. We both believe that we should implement agreed measures in areas that directly benefit our citizens' daily lives. For example, we wish to complete the Single Market, the capital markets union and the banking union. We want to rapidly progress the digital Single Market. We also want to develop our relations with other parts of the world.

Prime Minister Michel and I discussed the Brexit negotiations in advance of the June European Council and the need to protect the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, and all that flows from it - peace in Britain and Ireland, power sharing in the North and ever closer North-South co-operation.

I thanked the Prime Minister for his strong, ongoing support regarding our unique concerns and highlighted the need to ensure the commitments and principles agreed between the EU and the UK last December are translated into legal text of the withdrawal agreement.

After Ireland, Belgium is one of the countries most likely to be adversely affected by Brexit due to its strong trading relationship with the UK. We both agreed that we want the future relationship between the EU and the UK to be as deep, close and comprehensive as possible, while insisting that there be a level playing field, fair competition and that the integrity of the Single Market be protected.

The Prime Minister and I discussed a range of other EU issues, including the EU budget. We agreed on the need to ensure continued funding for agriculture, cohesion and research and development, and to be open to looking at other areas if they bring additional European value. We both support the EU enlargement process.

We exchanged views on transatlantic relations, where we agreed on the need for a strong EU response to US tariffs. We also acknowledged the long-term importance of the relationship. We have a united front on relations with Russia.

We agreed that the EU should reinvigorate its relations with Africa to develop a dynamic and political relationship that produces results.

Prime Minister Michel had some other engagements during his visit to Ireland. I was pleased that he took the time to visit the Border region, where he was accompanied by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, and where he had the opportunity to speak with people and see the Border at first hand.

My meeting with Prime Minister Michel was part of my ongoing bilateral engagement with EU and international counterparts, which remains crucial on Brexit and other important EU issues. In this context, I look forward to meeting the new Prime Minister of Spain, Mr. Pedro Sanchez, tomorrow in Madrid.

I am also scheduled to meet the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in Dublin on 21 June and the Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, in Dublin on 9 July. In addition to such scheduled bilateral meetings, I meet and speak regularly with my EU counterparts at formal and informal meetings of the European Council and also of the EPP, where I use every opportunity to advance Ireland's interests.

I attended the most recent EU summit on 17 May, the week before my meeting with the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr. Michel. I will, of course, attend the next meeting of the European Council in Brussels on 28 and 29 June.

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