Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, outlined, the European Council considered a number of important issues on Thursday and Friday last. Meeting in three different formats, leaders discussed migration, security and defence, jobs, growth and competitiveness, digital innovation, external relations, economic and monetary union as well as, of course, Brexit.

While Brexit remains the priority of the Government, migration, which is of concern to many partners, was an important focus of the meeting. As the Taoiseach outlined, although we are less directly affected than other member states, we have played a constructive role in the EU response to migration. In advance of the meeting on Thursday, the Taoiseach confirmed that Ireland is to take in migrants from the MV Lifeline. He also announced a significant increase in our contribution to the EU Trust Fund for Africa, bringing it from €6 million to €15 million, as the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, highlighted, and the third highest contribution per capita.

The European Council called for substantial socio-economic transformation of the African continent so that the people are less likely to attempt dangerous journeys to try to get to Europe. This was especially welcome from our perspective, as the Taoiseach stressed. The EU needs to develop a close partnership with Africa to help build up institutions, improve security and provide economic opportunity there so that many people can enjoy better prospects in their home countries.

Much of the focus of the discussions last week was on strengthening external border controls, including through bolstering resources for Frontex and addressing the internal management of the Schengen area. While Ireland is not a member of Schengen, we co-operate in many areas and seek to be helpful where we can. As there was no major breakthrough in terms of reform of the common European asylum system, leaders agreed on the need to find a speedy solution to the package and they will be reviewed this again at their meeting in October.

The discussions on security and defence provided a welcome opportunity to review progress across a number of fronts, including permanent structured co-operation, PESCO, military mobility, co-operation with NATO and strengthening the civilian Common Security and Defence Policy.

Ireland is a founder member of PESCO and we are participating in two projects: a centre of excellence for EU military training missions and the upgrade of maritime surveillance systems. This in no way affects our policy of military neutrality and we will continue to make our distinctive contribution based on our own traditions and strengths.

Leaders also considered a number of issues relating to jobs, growth and competitiveness. There was strong support for the Commission's proposed response to the US steel and aluminium tariffs. Ireland fully subscribes to the EU view that these tariffs are unjustified and in conflict with WTO rules.

There was a relatively short discussion on digital taxation, with more time devoted to effective VAT collection issues. Ireland supports the position that all companies should pay their taxes. We need an approach, however, that is global, evidence-based, sustainable and focused on aligning taxing rights with the location of real substantive value-creating activity. It was positive that Ireland's position was acknowledged in the European Council conclusions, which emphasised support for the ongoing OECD work in this area.

We will engage positively as we always do. We were cautious about rushing to take short-term measures which can have unintended consequences. The Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, spoke in some detail about the discussions on the multi-annual financial framework. From Ireland's perspective, we are open to spending more if it adds European value provided our core priorities, particularly the Common Agricultural Policy and cohesion funding, are protected. As the Taoiseach outlined, leaders agreed at the euro summit that the European Stability Mechanism should provide the common backstop to the Single Resolution Fund and that preparations should begin for negotiations on a European deposit insurance scheme.

As Deputies are aware, the European Council meeting on Article 50 format adopted a set of conclusions on the Brexit negotiations. Leaders expressed disappointment at the lack of progress on the withdrawal agreement and called for intensified negotiations. As the Taoiseach stated, the United Kingdom gave clear commitments in December and again in March and we need to see detailed, workable proposals from the UK to deliver on these commitments. The EU 27 leaders agreed that if we do not get agreement on the backstop and the other outstanding elements, it will not be possible to finalise the withdrawal agreement as a whole, including the transitional arrangements. While we are hopeful that we will achieve a very close, comprehensive and ambitious future relationship with the United Kingdom, the Government is continuing to plan for the full range of scenarios and the EU 27 leaders agreed that we should all step up our work in this context.

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