Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for the many issues raised. Deputy Haughey raised a range of issues in respect of the strategic compass, Afghanistan, cybersecurity and Slovenia and the western Balkans, which reflects his deep interest in European affairs.

On the strategic compass, security and defence issues are still under consideration. Deputy Haughey is correct to identify those issues as having caused significant debate at European level. Indeed, at the dinner in Slovenia, the entire debate was about the role of Europe in international affairs. The sudden pull-out from Afghanistan and the lack of proper dialogue with partners was one subject matter. The AUKUS decision on nuclear submarines involving France, the US and the UK was another issue. Therefore, there is a growing sense within some European Union member states of the need - France in particular advocates this - to develop a greater self-reliance within Europe. That is not agreed. Other member states, especially on the eastern European side, are very conscious of the benefits of NATO to their security given their history with Russia and so on. They have NATO troops on the ground and were very clear in their articulation of the importance of that. A discussion of a draft of the strategic compass is scheduled for a meeting of foreign and defence ministers in November. It is expected to be on the agenda of the European Council in March 2022.

On the security and defence policy more broadly, it provides the EU with the capacity to conduct peacekeeping and conflict prevention missions and to strengthen international security in accordance with the principles of UN Charter. We have participated in and will only participate in Permanent Structured Cooperation, PESCO, projects, for example, that contribute to the enhancement of capabilities for UN mandated missions engaged in peacekeeping, conflict prevention or the strengthening of international security in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Ireland is currently participating in one PESCO project, the Greek-led upgrade of maritime surveillance, and we have confirmed observer status on a further nine projects, including military mobility, cyber threats and incident response information sharing platforms. We will keep that under ongoing review.

As the Deputy knows, we have a legally binding Irish protocol to the Lisbon treaty which states the treaty does not affect or prejudice Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality. That continues to be our policy but that does not mean we should not or cannot take a position in the face of, for example, cyberattacks, terrorism or extremism. We need to share knowledge and expertise on those threats and so we must work in co-operation with EU partners in that context.

On the rule of law issue Deputy Haughey and others have raised, it is a very serious issue that the Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruled that aspects of Articles 1 and 19 of the Treaty of the European Union are incompatible with the Polish Constitution. The Union is a union of law and values. Acceptance of the primacy of European Union law is an essential criterion for membership of the EU and the existence and prosperity of our Single Market and upholding of our common values are both predicated on respect for this core principle. It is important for the EU to have the necessary tools to monitor the rule of law across member states and respond effectively to challenges where they arise.

The multi-annual financial framework, MFF, Next Generation EU recovery fund package finalised last December requires member states allocated funding from the EU budget to respect the rule of law. We have consistently expressed the view the conditionality regulation to protect the EU budget is fair, proportionate and serves a legitimate, important purpose. We respect the decision of Poland and Hungary to request the Court of Justice review the conditionality mechanism's compatibility with EU law but we do not share their view on this. We believe the regulation was adopted on a correct legal basis and achieves necessary balance between fairness to member states and installing a more rigorous regime for proper disbursement of the EU's budget. Ireland is one of ten EU states to have made an intervention in the case in favour of the regulation's validity. The point is that this is the mechanism by which we can get some traction on adherence to the rule of law within the European Union.

Proceedings in relation to Hungary and Poland under Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union are ongoing and there have been a number of hearing at the General Affairs Council. Ireland supports the continuation of Article 7 proceedings. We hope discussions at Council level can continue towards a constructive resolution. I believe this will come up at this week's meeting. It would be improbable that it would not. That will be an issue for our agenda.

On the western Balkans, we agree on the accession programme. It has gone on for too long and too slowly. We have benefited from the European Union journey. We formally joined the EU in 1973 and we have benefited enormously from it. We believe the western Balkan countries deserve the same. I had bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of North Macedonia. Both are very frustrated or disappointed that the summit did not open the way for accession talks with their countries to begin. There is an issue between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. We hope that can get resolved before Christmas. The electoral cycle might have had an impact there.

We are a long-standing supporter of an EU pathway for the western Balkan countries. I agree with the Deputy that it would be transformative for stability and peace in the region and also transformative for the countries concerned. We were unequivocal in our articulation of that at the meeting in Slovenia, which was held last week or the week before. The weeks are coming fast. That is what we did in relation to that.

I appreciate Deputy Carthy's providing information on the Assembly. Vice-President Šefčovič's proposals are very generous and imaginative. He listened to people on the ground. He also has provision in his proposals for greater stakeholder involvement and engagement in relation to the protocol issue into the future so that people can have access to Europe and European institutions so that people can hear the on-the-ground concerns people have, particularly in relation to the operation of the protocol itself.

Brexit was a mistake in our view. We respect the decision of the United Kingdom to secede from the European Union but we think the repercussions were not fully thought through and have had damaging consequences. Potentially, in respect of the island of Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement, Brexit has created difficulties and challenges. In that respect, we need to resolve this issue and then, in the aftermath of resolving it, we need to develop a sensible post-Brexit relationship and a framework for that bilateral relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom. That is an objective of ours. It is important we get the protocol issue resolved and then move on from that. I appeal to the UK Government and the EU to do everything they possibly can to get this resolved.

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