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

I thank the Deputies for their statements and questions. I join them in wishing all of our European Parliament election candidates every success in the next few weeks. On the basis of clarification received from the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Phelan, I understand the elections will be held on the basis that there will be 13 seats and that there will not be two counts. Candidates will run on that basis. If there is no conclusion by 22 May on the withdrawal agreement and the UK decides to run the election, that number will reduce to 11. In other member states which were due to see an increase in seats, that will reduce also. What is not clear is whether that will be the case. Depending on a possible timeline or when there might, hopefully, be a conclusion to this where we move to phase 2 and the future relationship, that will affect European elections. A discussion is taking place within the EU Parliament on the legal question of what the next steps will be and what will happen with regard to candidates who would have been elected and, depending on the timeline, might be in a position to take up seats in a couple of months. Matters remain a little unclear but when we get further clarity from the EU and the Parliament, we will let the House know.

There was a lengthy discussion last week. It is very rare to have a meeting of the Council of the European Union at which different views and opinions are not expressed, whether on Brexit, migration, jobs, growth or competitiveness. It was clear from the moment President Macron responded to journalists as he entered the Council that we are united and need to remain united as a European Union. That had not changed by the end of the meeting. Of course, there were differing views as to whether the timeline should be long or short. From our point of view, it is not so much a question of the length of time as to ensure that whatever time is given is enough to allow the UK to do what it needs to, namely, agree with the withdrawal agreement, if that is what it chooses to do. The Taoiseach outlined clearly what the UK's three options now are. It can agree the withdrawal agreement and move forward, revoke Article 50 or look at something else, whether an election or a second referendum. We await the outcome there while continuing to make preparations at home. If the UK does not agree the withdrawal agreement by 22 May and fails to run European elections, the end date will move forward immediately to 1 June, most likely without an agreement. We hope it does not come to that.

We have always said that if the UK were to change its red lines on leaving the Single Market or customs union, we would very much welcome that. A great deal of what we have been doing, in particular on the backstop, has aimed to accommodate and work around those red lines. If the UK were to remain within the customs union, that would resolve many, albeit not all, of the concerns. If the UK were not to remain within the customs union but to continue in some form of shared customs space, what would that look like? The Taoiseach's comments were an attempt to be helpful on a possible solution, in particular given the negotiations ongoing between the Conservative and Labour Parties. In saying all this, we can only respond to a request from the UK and the Prime Minister but, as of yet, they have not requested the customs union or an alternative customs arrangement. We will of course respond to any request as positively as we can.

Julian Assange's case is a judicial and police matter. The Government can wait to see what the outcome is and then take matters from there. It is a judicial and police matter now and there is very little we can do at the moment.

Deputy Wallace also spoke about Libya and asked a question about France. We are all concerned about Libya and in particular about the situation in Tripoli which is especially unstable. We must ensure political dialogue resumes as quickly as possible. A declaration was agreed on Thursday last week by all member states calling for all military operations to cease in Tripoli and that all forces would withdraw, including those of General Haftar. France was also a signatory of that declaration and, as such, there is complete unity on the matter.

I was asked about Yemen and I do not disagree that the humanitarian crisis there is one of if not the worst of the world's crises at the moment. That is why Ireland has pledged a further €5 million this year to bring the total since 2012 to €23 million. While the EU as a whole has pledged €700 million, it is obviously not good enough to continue simply to pledge support. What we want to see is the implementation of the agreement reached in Stockholm in December 2018. The quicker that happens the better. Until then, we will continue to provide support and advocate for a peaceful solution.

I was asked about the overall situation in Venezuela, which Deputy Wallace has raised before. We support the EU's international contact group and are engaging with it. The group is engaging with all sides in Venezuela. It is engaging with Mr. Juan Guaido but also with Maduro, opposition parties, civil society groups, the church and UN organisations and it believes it has found a way to move forward via free and fair elections. The reason we are supporting Mr. Guaido as an interim president is that he can call for and provide for those free and fair elections. The EU group is engaging with all sides, however. I note also that the first tranche of humanitarian aid has made its way through, which we obviously support. We agree absolutely with Deputy Wallace that dialogue is the only way forward, not force. We will continue to work on the matter. While I do not know the date of the next Foreign Affairs Council, I will certainly raise the Deputy's question with the Tánaiste who I know will be discussing the matter with the Council again.

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