Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to focus in my remarks on the publication by the European Council of its new strategic agenda for the period from 2019 to 2024, inclusive, to which the Taoiseach referred in his remarks. It is worth recalling the composition of the European Council. Eight of the 28 Prime Ministers and other Heads of Government from around Europe come from the conservative European People's Party which is the Taoiseach's and Fine Gael's group. Seven come from the economically liberal ALDE group, now known as Renew Europe, to which Fianna Fáil belongs. A further seven come from the Labour Party's group, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The others are Independents or from smaller groups. Given that there is a clear majority of right-wing Heads of Government, it is not surprising that the Council's new strategic agenda reflects a conservative free market economic policy. The first priority of the agenda is security and the rule of law, including control of Europe's borders and migration. There is also a strong commitment to European foreign policy, defence co-operation and support for the rules based international order. Economic policy is the second priority. Social policy and environmental policy have been relegated to further down the list.

There is some hopeful language used in the European Council's document. There is an important commitment that the European Pillar of Social Rights should be implemented at EU and member state level. There is an important recognition in the document of the growth of inequality, especially among Europe's youth. However, limp promises of ensuring "opportunities for all", "adequate social protection" and "inclusive labour markets" show the lack of appetite among conservative European governments for taking more robust action on these issues. On the call for "good access to healthcare", it is easier said than done because there is no suggestion in the agenda of how it might be achieved in every member state. This highlights the weakest part of the document, the section on implementation. Essentially, the new strategic agenda commits to laissez-fairefree market principles. It calls for the non-regulation of social and economic actors by the European Union. It states the Union "must leave economic and social actors the space to breathe, to create and to innovate". The implication of the new strategic agenda is that while European leaders recognise the problem of inequality, they cannot agree on measures to address it or they are content to rely on free market forces to resolve the fundamental challenge that has been posed in recent years. It is a real political challenge to the very survival of the European ideal. It is certainly not one about which we can be complacent.

The position adopted in the new strategic agenda is wholly contradictory. Market forces are the reason there is growing inequality in Europe. We cannot expect to have so-called "opportunities" and "space to breathe" to resolve the visible failures of free markets. Recent examples of so-called "innovation" in the economy have included zero-hour contracts, the replacement of workers by automation and speculative investment in housing that is driving up the cost of housing across Europe without adding any value. We have spent the last five years legislating to reduce the harm caused by these innovations in the economy and thereby protect citizens. There is no reason to believe the market will produce better innovations in the next five years than it has in the last five.

European leaders should focus on agreed regulations to steer the economy in a new direction that will rebuild the momentum of and support for European ideals. As others said, this is an even bigger concern when it comes to climate change. The Labour Party welcomes the pledge to make sure no one will be left behind by the changes to the economy being made in response to the required transition to a low or zero carbon economy. The European Union has the potential to be a world leader in environmental policy. The big test of this approach will be when powerful economic interests have to be curtailed to protect biodiversity and the oceans. There is almost nothing in the strategy that suggests the European Union will push forward with an ambitious agenda to regulate the economy in new ways or channel economic activity into sustainable action. There is no reason to think it will make exceptional advances in the crucial period ahead. This is extremely worrying, given that international experts have told us that we have just 12 years left in which to make substantial changes to economies to meet our climate change goals. All of these matters are of fundamental importance.

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