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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 25, inclusive, together.

I have an ongoing programme of strategic engagement with my EU counterparts, including by means of formal bilateral meetings as well as informal discussions in the margins of EU summits. I report to the House regularly on these engagements. Recent formal bilateral meetings included those with the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr. Charles Michel, in Dublin on 24 May; the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr. Pedro Sánchez, in Madrid on 14 June; and Austrian Chancellor Kurz in Dublin last Sunday. I also met the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, and the chief EU Brexit negotiator, Mr. Michel Barnier, in Dublin on 21 June. I had a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the margins of the European Council on 28 June, where we discussed the Brexit negotiations and the position in Northern Ireland. I also spoke with her by phone last Saturday.

I had a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, ahead of the European Council, when we discussed the agenda for the meeting. I outlined our intention to continue to play a constructive role in EU discussions on migration. On Brexit, President Tusk expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress in the negotiations and reiterated his strong support for ensuring that the commitments agreed in December, including around the backstop, are translated into legal text in the withdrawal agreement.

As I reported to the House in detail on 4 July, I attended the European Council in Brussels on Thursday, 28 June, and Friday, 29 June. I also met informally with a number of my other EU counterparts, including the new Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Giuseppe Conte, and the Spanish and Portuguese Prime Ministers. On 28 June, the European Council met in regular format to discuss migration, security and defence, relations with Russia, the multi-annual financial framework and a number of economic issues including the country-specific recommendations on trade, taxation, digital and innovation. On Friday morning, we met in Article 50 format to discuss the Brexit negotiations and later on Friday, we held euro summit in inclusive format to exchange views on how we can deepen and improve economic and monetary union.

Although Brexit is the priority for the Government, migration is of enormous concern to many partners and was an important focus of our discussions. This has been a divisive issue and our discussions were difficult and lengthy. We managed to come to a common European position. We reached agreement on a number of new steps, including the need to increase funding for the Africa Trust Fund, to which Ireland has trebled its contribution. There is also an increase in funding for the facility for refugees in Turkey, to establish dedicated funding for migration through the EU budget, to explore the concept of regional disembarkation platforms and the voluntary establishment of control centres within EU member states. This reinforces the importance of what I have described as our three-pronged approach of securing our external borders, strengthening co-operation with countries of transit and origin and sharing the burden and creating solidarity among member states where a balance of solidarity and responsibility is needed.

In Article 50 format, Mr. Barnier outlined his assessment of the Brexit negotiations to date. We noted our disappointment at the lack of progress and agreed that if there is no agreement on the backstop and the other outstanding elements, including the European Court of Justice and Gibraltar, it will not be possible to finalise the withdrawal agreement as a whole, including the transition arrangements. I have always said that I hope the future relationship between the EU and the UK will be as close and comprehensive as possible, and that it will remove any need for a hard border. This does not remove the need for a legally robust backstop to apply unless and until better arrangements enter into force. I am grateful that EU partners have given us ongoing support and solidarity on this issue of national interest. Ireland’s concerns are at the very heart of the negotiations. The collective view of the EU side remains very firmly that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

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