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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

I attended the meeting of the European Council in Brussels from Sunday, 30 June, until Tuesday, 2 July. President Tusk convened this extraordinary meeting of the European Council to secure agreement on high-level EU appointments. Our objective, which I believe was achieved, was to propose candidates who reflect the diversity of the EU, including its gender, geographical and political balance; and to ensure that suitable and qualified people are in these posts.

We agreed that the current Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel, should be our next President of the European Council. Euro area leaders agreed also to appoint Charles Michel as President of the Euro Summit. He will take office on 1 December and remain in post until 31 May 2022.

We also decided to propose Ursula von der Leyen as candidate for President of the European Commission. I am glad that she was subsequently elected to this position by the European Parliament on 15 July. We agreed that Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell Fontelles, would be our High Representative for Foreign Policy, subject to the agreement of the President-elect of the Commission; and that Christine Lagarde, until recently the head of the IMF, was the best candidate to be the next President of the European Central Bank. In July, the European Parliament elected David-Maria Sassoli of Italy as its new President.

I met with the new Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, on the margins of the European Council. I took the opportunity to congratulate her on her election and I noted the excellent bilateral relations between Ireland and Denmark, including our strong co-operation as EU member states. I updated her on the state of play with regard to Brexit and the Prime Minister confirmed Denmark's ongoing solidarity. I spoke with President Anastasiades of Cyprus by phone on several occasions to update him on the discussions at the European Council and to seek his views, as he was unable to attend the meeting.

I spoke with Prime Minister Michel following the meeting and congratulated him on his election as the next President of the European Council. On 12 July, I spoke with Ursula von der Leyen to congratulate her on her nomination as candidate for President of the European Commission. I said that I looked forward to the opportunity to work together in the future and spoke to her about the composition of the new Commission and our strategic agenda with regard to the future of the European Union and Brexit.

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