Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have asked the Taoiseach about the issue of the budget and whether he supports the idea of additional revenues for the Union. The broader question facing us will be the budget to be spent by the Union and the financial framework for the next five to six years. The Brexit situation looms large and we do not know who is going to win the Conservative Party's leadership battle and become the next Prime Minister, but it could have a particular bearing on the financial outlook, given that Britain leaving the EU has financial implications for the overall EU budget and, particularly from an Irish perspective, on the CAP. Unsurprisingly, Commissioner Hogan has already indicated that there will be a reduction in the CAP budget. It is important that the Taoiseach indicate that the Government is consistent in supporting an increase in the overall EU budget as being in Ireland's best interests in terms of our sectoral needs, agriculture and rural Ireland in particular.

The Taoiseach is correct in saying that it is a more fragmented European Parliament. It is obvious that, at European rather than Irish level, various groups will negotiate a package and a compromise on the key positions. That said, will it still be the EPP's position, for example, to rely on leaders like Orbán to support its candidates and give it with the strength that it enjoys in the European Parliament?

On a broader level, the European Union has been under threat for some time. Luckily, the European elections turned out reasonably well in some countries. In others like France, there are still some alarm bells ringing in terms of the far right making progress. There must be much less tolerance of the far right's approach to many issues. Democrats need to stand up for the fundamental values that have informed the European Union from the outset, in particular free speech, independent judiciaries and independent and free media, in order that people can speak out without fear or favour. Where regimes within the EU are suppressing free speech in the media and undermining the independence of the judiciary, the EU must take a much stronger stance in response to those countries. Such behaviour is incompatible with continued membership of the Union.

See this speech in context