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

The most recent Action Plan for Jobs is a regional action plan which is producing and creating jobs outside Dublin, Cork, Galway and other major towns and cities. We are investing substantially in rural Ireland. I will refrain from commenting further and confine my remarks to statements on the pre-European Council meetings which I have just attended and the meeting which the Taoiseach will attend tomorrow.

As the Taoiseach indicated in his opening statement, the agenda for the European Council later this week is long and broad-ranging. From Ireland’s perspective, it includes a number of important items such as the next EU strategic agenda, climate change, the multi-annual financial framework, cybersecurity and economic and monetary union. Brexit, which was mentioned by many Deputies, remains a top priority for the Government and the 27 EU leaders are expected to discuss it on Friday.

As Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, I attended the General Affairs Council and the Foreign Affairs Committee this week. Having engaged with our colleagues across the European Union, support for the withdrawal agreement, the Irish backstop and citizens' rights and monetary settlement within it are still very much their priority and objective on the route towards an orderly Brexit.

As the Taoiseach outlined many of the main issues in his statement, I will focus my remarks on enlargement and the other items under external relations. As I said, as Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, I attended the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg yesterday where we had a lengthy discussion on the enlargement and stabilisation association process concerning Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo. The focus of our discussions was on whether to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. The European Commission published its annual enlargement package on 29 May. The report noted that North Macedonia has made significant progress on key reform areas. Elections in April and May 2019 were conducted in a transparent manner, and the historic Prespes agreement with Greece put an end to a longstanding dispute. Together with the friendship treaty with Bulgaria, the agreements are examples of reconciliation for the region. In light of the significant progress achieved and the fulfilment of the conditions set by the Council in June 2018, the Commission recommended that the Council open accession negotiations with North Macedonia.

The report also noted that Albania has continued to make good progress, particularly in the implementation of significant reforms to the justice sector. It recommended that accession negotiations should also be opened with Albania. From Ireland’s perspective, we welcome the Commission reports and agree with their conclusions and recommendations. The progress of reform in North Macedonia and that country's ratification of the Prespes agreement with Greece, wherein both countries set an example in the area of conflict resolution, deserve to be recognised. While the situation is more complex in Albania, opening negotiations will firmly anchor the country in the reform process and is the right thing to do.

A number of reforms were successfully advanced over the past year despite the current political polarisation. We welcome Albania’s 100% alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP, and the Commission's confirmation that progress was made across all chapters. The EU identified measures last year that North Macedonia and Albania should take. We agreed this at a Council meeting in June and, having done that and with both sides having fulfilled their commitments, we should follow through on our commitments because if not it would be damaging for our own reputation, to the commitments that we made, to the stability in the region and many other issues that were raised yesterday. We should reward the candidate countries for the reforms they have put into place and set out a clear path for them to join in order to maintain our credibility in the region. Unfortunately, at the General Affairs Council yesterday, while I strongly supported the opening of negotiations, there will be a delay for procedural reasons. I urged yesterday that any delay be kept as short as possible. I think that October is the most likely deadline now. There should be a clear timetable and decision-making process for both countries.

As part of the discussion on external relations, EU leaders are expected to underline the importance of the EU’s strategic partnership with Africa. We are committed to working closely with Africa to address global challenges and opportunities and we welcome this strong signal on the part of the Union. EU leaders are also likely to emphasise the importance of the eastern partnership which is marking its tenth anniversary and to ask the Commission and the High Representative to bring forward further long-term policy objectives. Last week I hosted an event to mark the tenth anniversary of the eastern partnership in Government Buildings. At that, I reiterated Ireland’s support for this programme, which has matured in a challenging geopolitical environment, which will help to promote security and prosperity in the region. There have been notable achievements in trade, the economy, youth, mobility, people-to-people contacts and education. However, more work needs to be done around the rule of law, judicial reform and anti-corruption, with a sustained push from all sides required to ensure lasting reform in these key areas.

It is expected that EU leaders will note the fifth anniversary of the downing of flight MH17, which many members of the Council raised yesterday. Along with our EU partners, we fully support the ongoing efforts to establish truth and accountability for the victims and their loved ones and family members in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2166. I thank Deputies for their attention and look forward to discussing these issues further next week and answering questions following the Council.

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