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

I will attend a meeting of the European Council tomorrow and Friday, 21 and 22 October. Tá agenda cuimsitheach ann a chlúdóidh Covid, cúrsaí eacnamaíochta agus go háirithe, ról na hEorpa i gcomhthéacs cúrsaí polaitíochta an domhain agus cúrsaí trádála. Beidh sin faoi chaibidil againn agus mar aon leis sin tá cruinnithe a bhaineann leis an Eoraip le teacht.

At this week's meeting we will have a very full agenda, touching on very many important issues facing the Union. We will discuss Covid-19, with a particular focus on vaccination rates across the European Union, including in the context of rising infection rates in some member states, and tackling disinformation regarding the pandemic. We will also discuss the global roll-out of vaccines and the central role of the World Health Organization in global health governance.

We will discuss energy prices and what we can do individually as member states and collectively, as the European Union, to mitigate the impact of recent price fluctuations on vulnerable citizens and businesses, and to consider medium and long-term measures to increase the European Union's energy resilience and green transition.

We will discuss digital issues, including ongoing progress on the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, and the publication of a European chips Act planned by the Commission.

We will discuss trade, including its coherence with the overall international perspective of the European Union, and, critically, the importance of trade to global economic recovery.

We will discuss migration, focusing on its external aspects, including our co-operation and support for countries of origin and transit as well as the serious humanitarian situation at a number of European Union borders, including those member states bordering Belarus.

We will consider a number of upcoming summits, including COP15 and COP26, the Asia-Europe Meeting, ASEM, summit, which will be held virtually on 25 and 26 November, and the EU-Eastern Partnership summit to be held in Brussels on 15 December.

The Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, will provide more detail on the external relations issues on this week's European Council agenda in his concluding remarks this afternoon. I will address all other agenda items.

Before I turn to address those agenda items for this week's meeting, I take the opportunity to update the House on a recent informal meeting of members of the European Council, which I attended on 5 October, hosted by Slovenia as part of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the European Union's role on the international stage and relations with key strategic partners, including the US and China. In our discussions in Slovenia there was a general agreement that the European Union needs to leverage its economic power more effectively and strengthen its capacity to act. It is in our shared interest that the European Union continues to be a leader in setting global standards in trade, technology, data, human rights, the environment and so much more. We agreed also that in driving this work forward, our collective values should guide our approach. I underlined the importance of the transatlantic relationship - the European Union and the United States share an important commitment to the global level playing field. I also agreed with other EU leaders that the closeness of our partnership with the United States should not deter us, as the European Union, from having a distinct voice in our co-operation with China, not least on economic recovery and climate change but also in terms of asserting and promoting our values.

I attended an EU-western Balkans summit the following day, 6 September, in Slovenia. The summit saw the coming together of the European Union 27 leaders with the leaders or our six western Balkans partners, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo. We met over two sessions. In the first session, we were joined by representatives of the Regional Co-operation Council, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli. The focus in this session was on the European Union as the primary driver of sustainable economic recovery and growth in the western Balkans.

The second session was a discussion among leaders only where we reflected on the broader question of the strength of the commitment on both sides to an EU path for the western Balkans countries. A joint statement was agreed at the summit, which reaffirmed the European Union's support for the enlargement process, while also referring to the EU's capacity to integrate new members. I met bilaterally with my counterparts from Albania and North Macedonia, Prime Minister Edi Rama and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, respectively, in the margins of the summit. I expressed to them my full support for their EU path. EU membership has transformed our country. I assured them that I would like to see the same opportunity afforded to their people. While clearly frustrated at the slow pace of progress and ongoing political obstacles to advancing the accession process, both leaders were appreciative of Ireland's support.

When I meet European Union leaders at this week's European Council, we will, as we have throughout the pandemic, discuss Covid-19. This week our focus will be on vaccination rates across the European Union, including tackling disinformation and efforts to overcome vaccine hesitancy. We will also discuss further co-ordination on free movement and travel, preparedness for future health emergencies, the global roll-out of vaccines and European Union support for the World Health Organization.

Very significant progress has been made in tackling the pandemic, with safe and effective vaccines providing us with the means to protect ourselves from Covid-19. However, as rising infection rates in a number of member states remind us, we must remain vigilant against this deadly disease which continues to circulate in our communities. The decision of the European Union and its member states to join together to support the development and procurement of vaccines was the right one and has been remarkably successful. Well over 800 million doses have already been delivered across the European Union. I take this opportunity again to thank the people of this country who have responded so positively and played their part so commendably in tackling Covid, including through achieving such a high vaccination rate.

At the European Council this week, we will also discuss our approach to vaccine booster doses and vaccine sharing. The discussion will also include preparedness for and response to future health emergencies in the European Union. The pandemic is a global challenge and we will discuss how we must work together, including beyond European Union borders, to overcome it. The European Union is the largest exporter of Covid-19 vaccines to the world and we will need to continue our efforts to increase global vaccine production capacity and supply in order to meet global needs.

This week's meeting will also take stock of progress on Europe's digital transformation. When we met in March, leaders set important political orientations for the ambitious legislative agenda being advanced by President von der Leyen to "make Europe fit for the digital age". The House will recall my view that setting the right strategic orientations for positive digital transformation must be seen as an essential basis for the European Union's future dynamism and strength. This means continuing to strike the right balance - shaping Europe's future in a direction that remains open, competitive and innovation-friendly. We need to set the high levels of ambition necessary for skills development, digital connectivity and responsive public services. We must work to unlock the full potential of our Single Market, including in services, while recognising that digitalisation is itself making traditional distinctions between goods and services less relevant. We must make it as easy as possible for our SMEs to scale their businesses across Europe's borders and beyond. It is also important to provide strong new protections against illegal and harmful digital content, including robust new institutional arrangements to promote digital safety, oversee efficient and effective take-down procedures, and ensure strong remedial measures for non-compliance.

The European Union is leading the development of global standards for fast-evolving applications in the field of artificial intelligence, working closely with like-minded global partners to ensure the strongest possible underpinnings of integrity and trust. The reality is that data-driven innovation is the key source of productivity growth in today's advanced economies, while also equipping us with exciting new capabilities to improve the collective performance of our public sectors, support higher living standards and strengthen human welfare more generally. We will also discuss further strengthening our collective capabilities and toolboxes in responding effectively to growing cyber threats, including to democratic values. I also welcome the recent establishment of the Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council as a significant initiative to enhance transatlantic dialogue on the basis of a substantive economic agenda.

We will also have a timely discussion on energy prices as we look ahead to the winter months. Higher demand as the global economy recovers and tighter gas supply have contributed to sharp rises in energy prices. This issue has given rise to widespread concern in Ireland and across the EU. I am acutely aware of the impacts of significant energy price rises on citizens, particularly the most vulnerable in society. Last week, the European Commission published a communication on energy prices, which is an important contribution to our discussions this week. This includes a toolbox of measures that the EU and its member states can use to address the immediate impact of current price increases and to strengthen resilience against future shocks.

In the short term member states are best placed to support their citizens. In last week's budget we introduced a range of measures to support households through higher welfare payments to increase and expand the scope of the fuel allowance and to improve energy efficiency. Over the medium term, the European Commission has suggested examining a number of measures at EU level, including additional energy storage capacity, reviewing electricity market design and voluntary joint procurement of gas stocks. Energy ministers will meet next week to progress further work on this issue. Ultimately, increasing our supply of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency are the best ways to ensure security of supply, tackle energy poverty and protect people from the impact of high energy costs.

EU leaders will also discuss our collective approach to COP26 in Glasgow in November and will call for an ambitious global response to climate change. The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in August, was a hugely important statement on international science's understanding of the climate system and climate change. Translating science and urgency into policy and action is one of the most important challenges we face. The EU has taken a strong position and will lead by example.

The European Council will assess the implementation to date of the June 2021 European Council conclusions, which focused on progressing the external aspects of EU migration policy and intensifying work on co-operation with key third countries of origin and transit. It will also discuss financing for Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and other parts of the region. The instrumentalisation of migrants at the EU's external borders for political purposes and the humanitarian consequences of that action is of particular concern. This practice, which has developed of late, is reprehensible.

We will have a discussion on trade, and in particular a strategic reflection following on from last week's discussions in Slovenia, on the international role of the EU. I will be supporting an open approach underpinned by an international rules-based order.

I take the opportunity to update the House on my attendance at the Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism last week. This conference is a reminder that no effort should be spared in fighting all forms of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia. Old prejudices and hatreds are being reanimated through new technologies and platforms. We have to learn and empower ourselves to tackle hate both offline and online. This will be among the issues I will raise when I meet other EU leaders in Brussels this week.

I look forward to the opportunity this week to engage collectively and bilaterally with my EU counterparts on a broad range of pressing issues. In advance of the formal meeting, I will informally meet leaders from the six Nordic and Baltic EU member states, a group with which Ireland shares many policy priorities. I will report to the House on our discussions next week.

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