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

I will begin by referring to the previous meeting of the European Council, which was held in May. It is regrettable that this summit did not reach any substantial conclusions with regard to climate change and reductions in carbon emissions. The EU agreed last year to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2030, having regard to the 1990 levels, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, no agreement was reached as to mechanisms to be used to reach these targets. It is reported that Poland in particular put forward objections on the basis of its continued reliance on coal. In any event, we await the "Fit for 55" package from the European Commission. Achieving these targets will be challenging for all member states but we have no choice but to proceed with this agenda with haste. Ireland in particular is rising to the challenge with the recent passing of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the Dáil.

A lot of time at the May meeting of the European Council was spent discussing the situation in Belarus and the state-sponsored hijacking of a civilian aircraft, which the Taoiseach mentioned. We cannot move on from this issue. What do we now know about the fate of the Belarusian journalist and opposition activist, Roman Protasevich, and his partner, Sofia Sapega? We must continue to call for their release and for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus. The EU must continue to take strong action to deal with the unacceptable situation in Belarus. The issue of Belarus must not slip down the EU agenda. I welcome the commitment the Taoiseach has just made to the effect that Belarus will be on the agenda of this forthcoming meeting of the European Council.

I take this opportunity to welcome the outcome of the Brexit adjustment reserve negotiations. It has been confirmed that Ireland is to receive approximately €1 billion out of a total fund of €5.4 billion. This is a great achievement for Ireland. The Taoiseach and all involved in the negotiations, including the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, can be very satisfied with the outcome. Ireland is one of the member states most affected by Brexit and it is clear that our EU partners have shown solidarity with us. We now need to ensure that this funding is given to those who need it most. By this I mean the business and economic sectors most affected by Brexit and, the fishing industry in particular.

US President Joe Biden recently attended the G7 summit in Cornwall. He went on to have meetings with the EU, NATO and Russian President, Vladimir Putin. It is welcome that President Biden raised the issue of the Northern Ireland protocol and the Good Friday Agreement with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He started by proposing a démarcheto the Brexit minister, David Frost. The President has steadfastly supported the need to implement the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement and has requested that the specifics and modalities as to the operation of the Northern Ireland protocol be finalised as soon as possible. I hope his words will not fall on deaf ears. In response, the UK Prime Minister said that he will do whatever it takes to protect the territorial integrity of the UK. This is obviously rhetoric meant more for a domestic audience. The trade and co-operation agreement between the EU and the UK and the Northern Ireland protocol have nothing to do with the constitutional position of Northern Ireland and the Prime Minister knows that.

The Irish Timesreports today that the Taoiseach has suggested to European leaders that an extension to the grace period in which EU regulations governing the importation of chilled meets to Northern Ireland are not applied should be granted. This is a sensible and practical suggestion. We need to be sensitive to the political situation in Northern Ireland. Such an extension would calm tensions and allow for constructive negotiations to continue. I also welcome the ongoing support and solidarity of EU Heads of Government on this issue. It is reported that French President, Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President, Charles Michel, all took the UK Prime Minister to task on this matter in their recent meetings with him. Such solidarity has been unfailing since the Brexit nightmare started on 23 June 2016, five years ago, almost to the day.

Ireland is not a member of NATO, but we have to take note of the fact that NATO declared China a security threat at its recent meeting. Of specific concern are the persecution of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. These concerns were also referred to in the G7 communiqué. There are other concerns about China which I do not want to go into today. Ireland has good relations with China but we need to highlight these human rights issues at the EU, the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council. The EU is divided as to how to respond to China's activities at this time for various reasons. The cornerstones of Irish foreign policy, however, are rules-based multilateral diplomacy and the promotion of basic, fundamental human rights. Those issues arise to a great degree in respect of China.

I have no doubt but that the European Council meeting will devote some time to the Covid-19 position and the prevalence of the Delta variant. I ask that the summit take decisions on vaccinations in developing countries and on the question of global vaccine inequity. As we all know, nobody is safe until everyone is safe. The COVAX scheme is a good one and it is working but it needs more financial support. While Europe and the western world generally appear to be getting a grip on the pandemic, the same cannot be said of developing countries. We are morally bound to assist them financially and in any other way we can.

In passing, I pay tribute to UNICEF for its Get a Vaccine, Give a Vaccine campaign. The former Minister of State, Peter Power, is the executive director of UNICEF Ireland. Its advocacy for increased vaccine sharing deserves our support.

I also acknowledge the fact that Ireland's national recovery and resilience plan has now been finalised. Ireland is to receive €1 billion or thereabouts from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility, which is the centrepiece of the next generation EU. Whatever about its response to the securing of vaccines in the first place, the EU has not been found wanting when it comes to the need for economic recovery following the pandemic. The initiation of this EU fund is unprecedented in many ways and signals that the EU can effectively respond to crises in a practical and timely way. The Irish plan aims to advance the green transition, accelerate and expand digital reform and transformation, bring about social and economic recovery and create jobs. It has been integrated into our recently announced economic recovery plan. The Government must proceed with all haste to bring about our post-pandemic economic recovery, which all of us await.

I note that there are several other issues on the agenda of the meeting of the European Council, including relations with Turkey and the issue of migration. Of course, Turkey has a big role to play in respect of that issue.

In addition, the summit will revert to the issue of relations with Russia. That is an issue of much concern to many Deputies and we await the outcomes in that regard.

I welcome the contribution of the Taoiseach regarding the role Ireland is playing on the UN Security Council. Ireland is very much active on the global agenda and the issues of the day that are of concern to the United Nations and countries throughout the world. I believe we are making a major contribution in resolving many of the intractable issues in global politics at this time. I welcome the report the Taoiseach gave in that regard.

I wish the Taoiseach well for his meeting. I have no doubt that he will keep the flag flying. Obviously, the question of how Europe recovers from the pandemic is big on the agenda, as are the lessons to be learned. There will be significant changes as a result of all our experiences with the pandemic in terms of work practices and so many other facets of our lives. It will be interesting to see what the summit comes up with in that regard, how lessons can be learned and how economic recovery will be rolled out for the EU and the member states.

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