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

In his statement, the Taoiseach spoke in some detail about the European Council's discussions on Brexit, migration, jobs, growth and competitiveness, and economic and monetary union. As he indicated, I will now speak about some of the other items discussed by Heads of State and Government, including the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, digital and innovation issues, and the enlargement and stabilisation process.

First, I will speak about enlargement concerning the Western Balkans in particular. In relation to the enlargement and stabilisation process, the European Council welcomed the agreement reached between the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece regarding the long-running dispute over the name of the former. It is very good to finally have movement on this issue which has been a source of tension for countries in the region. It gives a positive impetus to the prospect for an improvement in relations there. While the deal has yet to be ratified, it is important that we welcome and support it at this early stage. It is clear that the constructive role of the EU, and the prospect of EU membership, are powerful drivers for co-operation and mutual respect, even in very divisive situations. It is worth bearing that in mind when we look at our candidate countries and enlargement policy in general.

The European Council also endorsed the conclusions of the General Affairs Council on enlargement. Those had been agreed, after lengthy discussion, at the General Affairs Council, which I attended and spoke at earlier that week. The conclusions relate to the seven candidate and potential candidate countries. They reaffirm the Union's commitment to enlargement, welcome the reform efforts across all of those countries, and outline the progress that has yet to be made there. In particular, the Council agreed to respond positively to the progress made by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania. A small number of member states felt that these two countries need to carry out further reforms before accession negotiations could be opened. Following the query that was raised in intensive discussions, we agreed that the Council should set out a path towards opening negotiations with them in June 2019. If progress continues to be made on the reform priorities, a decision can then be taken by the Council to allow negotiations to be opened. The Commission will now begin the preparatory work required to ensure that, if the conditions are met, negotiations can be opened by that time next year, which is welcome progress.

Ireland is a firm supporter of EU accession for countries willing to take on the responsibilities and obligations of membership, provided that all conditions are met, and we support the European perspective on the Western Balkans. We were also strongly supportive of the EU strategy for the region, published in May, which outlines a framework for those aspiring to join the Union in the foreseeable future. That was a priority for the Bulgarian Presidency and it deserves credit for its hard work, including in successfully convening and chairing the informal summit in Sofia in May, which I attended with the Taoiseach. It produced a declaration and a priority agenda outlining practical initiatives for further co-operation between the EU and the Western Balkans. I had the opportunity to visit the region and to meet with my counterparts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.

I encouraged them to seize the momentum provided by the renewed focus on the western Balkans and assured them of Ireland’s support as they carry out the reforms necessary to meet the high standards expected by the European Union.

The June European Council set out important strategic directions on innovation and digital policy issues, reflecting the very constructive discussion by our Heads of State and Government in Sofia in May. Specifically, the strong focus is on supporting breakthrough and disruptive innovation in Europe. It is very encouraging that the Commission is proposing a €100 billion research and innovation envelope under the post-2020 multi-annual financial framework, MFF, including a new European innovation council, EIC, with a focus on supporting top-class innovators with ambition to scale internationally. Ireland supported the pilot running of the innovation council under the current multi-annual financial framework and we are pleased to see the concept gaining wide support. We must also continue to unlock the full potential of Europe’s digital Single Market, setting a direction that is open, competitive, innovation-friendly and open for business. This includes high levels of protection for personal privacy under the new general data protection regulation, GDPR, underpinning trust and confidence in new digital services while removing unnecessary barriers to the free flow of non-personal data. A fully developed Single Market will remove unnecessary barriers to doing business digitally and across borders, which will present significant opportunities for all business, particularly Irish small and medium enterprises, SMEs, and consumers. The digital economy is an increasingly important driver of economic growth globally as information and communication technology, ICT, related technological development transforms operational and business models. Most young people in school, as well as future generations, will work in jobs that have not yet been created as we move more and more into this sector. Ireland’s participation in the development of the EU's digital Single Market is an enabler of our digital economy.

By early May, the Commission had presented just over 30 legislative initiatives under its digital Single Market strategy. The most recent package was issued on 25 April and largely completes the legislative framework envisaged by the Commission for the digital Single Market. The Parliament and Council have already agreed on a third of the Commission proposals. Many of the proposals are particularly significant, including those on roaming, which people understand and have seen recent changes in, general data protection, geo-blocking, portability and the 470 MHz to 790 MHz frequency. The co-legislators are likely to soon agree on a further five proposals. Ireland has been very proactive in encouraging and pushing forward work on the digital Single Market with the current Presidency and the previous Estonian Presidency which had the issue in high priority during its term. We will continue to co-operate closely with like-minded member states in supporting a high level of ambition for Europe's digital transformation.

I will outline the European Council discussions on the multi-annual financial framework. The Commission proposal for the multi-annual financial framework, which was published on 2 May, and its subsequent sectoral proposals mark the beginning of a very important and lengthy debate. The main discussion among Heads of State and Government last week regarded the timeline, with the European Parliament and Council now invited to examine the proposals in a more comprehensive manner as soon as possible. The Commission in particular hopes that agreement can be reached before the European Parliament elections in May of next year. Although this is an ambitious timetable, Ireland is prepared to work at an accelerated rate if it can help to reach agreement. It is worth noting, however, that neither Ireland nor any other member state is interested in sacrificing quality for speed.

In recent years, Ireland has moved from being a net beneficiary of the EU budget to being a net contributor and will be a net contributor for the full period of the post-2020 multi-annual financial framework for the first time. We are nonetheless open to contributing more, but only where it brings clear added European value and provided that our core priorities are protected. It is important to note that there is a variety of opinions on whether member states should pay more. We are willing to contribute more but not at the expense of our core priorities.

This is a time of change within the European Union. We understand that we must deal with new priorities, including security, climate change and other issues, as well as the departure of the United Kingdom. The migration debate at the June European Council underlined the need for the EU budget to remain relevant to changed circumstances and there is little doubt that there will be a significant increase in the EU funds spent on migration over the next budget. It is also important that policies with demonstrated European added value continue to be properly supported. The Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, remains a priority for Ireland because it delivers excellent value, protects agriculture and gives us the tools to support change as we prepare for the challenges of the future. Cohesion funding is also important, especially in helping less developed member states. Ireland received cohesion funds in the past and we are well aware of the transformational impact they can have in unlocking a country's economic potential and we would like to see newer member states avail of those benefits. In its proposals, the Commission has also emphasised other policies that function well, including ERASMUS+, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and the PEACE and INTERREG programmes, which are particularly welcome here. The Commission also proposed that we double our funding in regard to young people, which I very much welcome.

From Ireland’s perspective, we will carefully consider the implications of these proposals within the budget. We have given our very strong view that CAP and other well-functioning programmes such as ERASMUS and Horizon 2020 should not be cut. Our negotiating position will be that there should be no cut in CAP payments to farmers. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, recently attended a meeting with like-minded countries on the issue and I have raised it regularly, including at a discussion with Commissioner Oettinger last week. As I noted earlier, we are willing to increase our contribution to the EU budget to protect these and other well-functioning programmes where there is demonstrable EU added value and we will work with our allies across the Union to achieve that. The Commission has also put forward some ideas for additional ways to fund the budget, including proposals in regard to a possible tax on plastics or a common consolidated corporate tax base. Although it will examine these carefully, the Government believes direct payments from member states are the fairest and most effective way to fund the EU.

I thank all Deputies for their statements and assure them that the Taoiseach and I will continue to report to the House in advance of and following the regular meetings of the European Council.

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