Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The European Council meeting held last week dealt with a number of issues, including Covid-19, EU-UK relations and Brexit, climate change and external relations with Africa, as well as the southern neighbourhood, Belarus, Turkey and the downing of flight MH17. Obviously of major concern to Ireland is the Brexit issue and the state of EU-UK negotiations on a possible trade agreement.

The time, energy and resources given to dealing with the outcome of the fateful vote on Brexit way back on 23 June 2016 have been substantial. Public administrations in every EU member state, including Ireland, as well as the European Commission, have grappled with this issue ever since. This is such a shame. Instead of dealing with the many other challenges facing the EU at this time, governments have spent endless hours trying to resolve the many problems arising from the UK vote.

The European Council meeting last week was dominated by the Brexit question and it looks like it will be the same again for the next European Council meeting scheduled for 15 November. Where are we now as regards the negotiations? The UK wants to exchange legal texts and enter the so-called tunnel. The Commission is obviously opposed to that, and rightly so.

The UK Prime Minister has said he is now preparing to finally leave the EU without a trade deal. I wonder about that. There is no doubt that the UK Government is under pressure with regard to its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic at home. One gets the impression that Prime Minister Johnson is hyping up anti-EU rhetoric for domestic political reasons to divert attention from the Covid-19 crisis, or perhaps it is simply a negotiating tactic. Let us hope so.

In any event, it is clear that a trade agreement is in the best interests of the EU, including Ireland, and the UK. Irish agriculture, in particular the beef sector, will take a big hit should there be no free trade agreement. Nevertheless, despite all of the rhetoric there are some signs that both sides are moving closer, if I am to listen to what the Taoiseach and others have said.

The major issues to be resolved now centre on fisheries and access to UK waters by other EU states, historical access rights and quota shares, a level playing field, including environmental protection, labour rights and state aid standards, governance and how disputes will be resolved and whether the European Court of Justice will still have a role to play after 1 January 2021. The reality is that the European Court of Justice will still have a role of some sort to play in respect of the various matters. Disputes will arise, necessitating arbitration, but ultimately the European Court of Justice must interpret European Union law. Compromise will be necessary.

I welcome the news this week that some progress has been made on the implementation of the Ireland-Northern Ireland protocol. Needless to say, there was a lot of unhappiness here and throughout the EU about the publication of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill. As it happens, members of the House of Lords' European Union select committee are meeting the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs to discuss the Bill tomorrow. The Bill gives the UK Government the power to break the Ireland-Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal agreement. Its publication highlights the lack of trust between the EU and the UK. It raises the question of whether a trade deal, if agreed, would be adhered to, but that is a question for another day. The Ireland-Northern Ireland protocol must be implemented to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and protect the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process generally.

If there is no deal in place by 1 January 2021, World Trade Organization rules will apply. A no-deal Brexit would represent a monumental failure of statecraft on the part of the UK and the EU. Tariffs will be imposed and there is no doubt that disruptive transport delays will occur almost immediately, especially at the Port of Dover. The UK economy will take a hit. What will happen then?

To take up the point made by Deputy Howlin, the reality is that all of these issues will still have to be dealt with if there is no trade agreement. It seems that matters arising from Brexit will still have to be resolved in the short, medium and long-term no matter what happens. Brexit is not going away, and that is something we can all look forward to.

Another issue discussed at the European Council summit meeting was Covid-19, as the Taoiseach outlined. I welcome the conclusions of the meeting with regard to Covid-19. It is generally accepted that the EU was initially very slow to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a case of every member state for itself. Then came a move towards agreement on the multi-annual financial framework and the associated recovery fund. That is an unprecedented measure by the European Union whereby the Commission will, for the first time, borrow money. I hope agreement can be reached with the relevant parties in respect of that recovery fund.

I also welcome the progress made on vaccines.

The Taoiseach informed the House earlier that the Government signed an agreement with the EU in respect of vaccines. That is the way to go. An EU approach to vaccines and what happens in respect of them is the right approach.

I also welcome the fact that the summit dealt substantially with relations between the EU and Africa. The communiqué states that the EU attaches high priority to strengthening its strategic relations with Africa and its partnership with the African Union, which remain based on mutual interest and shared responsibility. The communiqué goes on to talk about the issues of migration in the context of the African continent. The continent is on our doorstep. We in Europe are a developed continent and we have responsibilities towards our African neighbours. The communiqué states that the EU wishes to engage African partners in addressing mobility and all aspects of migration, including legal migration, combating illegal migration, readmission and the fight against militant smuggling networks both within and between the two continents. All of us would welcome that. The EU welcomes it as do the African countries themselves. Migration is a major issue to be confronted at an EU level as well as a major global issue. If we can stop migrants coming here in the first place on the basis of the economic development of Africa, then we will have done a good day’s work.

All in all, the summit went well. Brexit is the big issue and it is an ongoing saga. We await to see what happens in that regard.

See this speech in context