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

I attended a meeting of the European Council on Thursday, 16 December in Brussels. Cruinniú suimiúil agus tábhachtach a bhí ann. This was preceded by the Eastern Partnership summit, also in Brussels, which I attended on Wednesday, 15 December.

The European Council had a full agenda, addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the Union. We discussed Covid-19. We addressed the epidemiological situation in the European Union and the impact of Omicron, reiterating the importance of vaccination, co-ordination and international co-operation in the fight against the pandemic. We took stock of work on the European Union's crisis management and resilience to enhance our collective preparedness for future crises. We had a discussion on security and defence issues, and adopted conclusions reaffirming the European Union's intention to promote our interests and values and work towards global peace and security. We discussed developments in Belarus and on Ukraine's borders. We also discussed the external aspects of migration, building on previous discussions in June and October of last year. Leaders discussed the preparations for the European Union-African Union summit, in which I will participate on 17 and 18 February. We concluded with a discussion on the situation in Ethiopia.

The Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, will address crisis management and resilience, the external aspects of migration, the European Union-African Union summit and Ethiopia in his remarks later. I will address all other items.

Before turning to the European Council meeting, I take this opportunity to update the House on the outcome of the Eastern Partnership summit. The Eastern Partnership summit took place on 15 December amid increased challenges in the European Union's eastern neighbourhood. Since its establishment in 2009, the partnership has sought to foster stability, prosperity and mutual co-operation, to advance reform and to address global and regional challenges. This was the first meeting in this format since 2017. Ongoing developments in the region are a reminder that an effective partnership with, and stability in, our eastern neighbourhood, reinforces peace, security and prosperity across Europe and within the European Union. I was glad to have the opportunity at the summit to exchange views with the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

I regret the necessary absence of Belarus from the summit and the continued refusal of the Lukashenko regime to abide by its international commitments. Symbolically, Belarus was represented at the summit by an empty chair which I hope will be filled in the near future with a representative of a democratic government in Belarus.

The declaration adopted by European Union leaders and our eastern partners at the end of the summit confirmed that our partnership remains rooted in common fundamental values, mutual interests and shared ownership. The outcome reflects Ireland's long-held view that robust democratic processes, diverse media voices, gender equality, good governance and the rule of law are essential to enable all our societies to face the challenges of the 21st century.

Recognising the challenges facing countries in the region, I emphasised that it is vital that the will and voice of citizens are always at the heart of decision-making. In my view, the partnership has been a useful platform for co-operation, bringing improvements in trade and investment, infrastructure, people-to-people contacts, environmental standards and quality of life generally. The summit gave it new impetus at a critical time with elevated political pressures across the region.

When we met on 16 December, European Union leaders stressed the urgent need for Russia to de-escalate tensions caused by its actions along borders with Ukraine, where there has been a build-up of Russian troops. We also reiterated our full support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and our willingness to impose severe costs on Russia should it pursue further military aggression. Ireland never gives up on the prospect of a peaceful, diplomatic resolution to tensions. That is what we are trying to achieve and is our primary goal. I therefore hope that such sanctions will not be necessary, but Ireland and our European Union partners are willing to take steps such as these to defend our core values.

I welcome the intensified international dialogue on this issue, including between Russia and the United States, NATO and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE. Of course, it is important that Ukraine's voice is heard in discussions which concern it. Dialogue is the best way to de-escalate tensions and that should remain everyone's primary focus.

The European Council also addressed the situation in Belarus. European Union leaders condemned the regime's instrumentalisation of migrants, called for the release of political prisoners, an end to the repression of civil society and media, and reiterated the right of the Belarusian people to free and fair elections. The European Union's united position and role contributed last month to the de-escalation of the humanitarian situation at the European Union's borders with Belarus. We must now keep our focus on the challenge of ensuring all people in Belarus are able to realise their fundamental rights and freedoms.

Leaders held a discussion on security and defence issues and adopted conclusions reaffirming the European Union's intention to promote our interests and values and to work towards global peace and security. There is a strong emphasis in our conclusions on the EU's commitment to the global rules-based international order, with the United Nations at its core.

At European Union level, Ireland has always engaged constructively in the development of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, guided by our traditional policy of military neutrality and our contribution to crisis management and peacekeeping. This includes ongoing work to develop the European Union's new security and defence strategy, known as the strategic compass. The strategic compass will outline the European Union's approach towards our Common Security and Defence Policy for the decade ahead, offering a useful framework for the European Union to contribute to international peace and security. It will also reflect ongoing efforts to strengthen the European Union's ability to respond to new types of threats, such as cyber and hybrid attacks. It is expected to be adopted at the March European Council.

At the time of our meeting in December many member states, including Ireland, were experiencing a surge in Covid cases due to the emergence of the Omicron variant. This was a focus of our discussions at our meeting. The European Council underlined the importance of overcoming vaccine hesitancy, specifically through combatting disinformation.

We also called for adoption of revised Council recommendations on travel within and from outside the European Union, stressing the importance of a co-ordinated approach on the validity of EU digital Covid certificates. We called for progress on the EU strategy for Covid-19 therapeutics which will form part of the European Health Union. Thankfully, we have weathered the Omicron storm. Ireland's world-class vaccination programme and the roll-out of boosters has utterly transformed our situation, preventing the recent wave of infection translating into much more serious levels of illness and death.

Leaders underlined that the pandemic will only be overcome through global co-operation based on trust and mutual assistance. Well co-ordinated multilateral mechanisms, such as COVAX, have proven their worth and highlight just how important it is to aim for greater coherence and solidarity across the global health architecture, with the World Health Organization, WHO, in the driving seat.

The European Union is the largest donor and exporter of vaccines in the world. The European Union, with its member states, has committed €3.2 billion to the COVAX facility in support of the equitable distribution of vaccines. The European Union has exported over 1.7 billion vaccine doses to 165 countries. To date, Ireland has committed 5 million doses to COVAX with 1.34 million doses having already been delivered to Uganda, Nigeria, Indonesia and Ghana with further deliveries planned.

With vaccine production challenges from early last year largely resolved, the imperative now is to strengthen co-ordination with partners to address the issue of distribution. Now that there is substantial production capacity, we need to focus minds on the logistical challenge of getting vaccines into the arms of those who need them to meet the WHO target of 70% global coverage by mid-2022. However, we also need to do more and to plan for the medium-term and further global health challenges. As I said earlier, Africa currently imports 99% of its vaccines and 94% of its medicines.

This is unsustainable and we will need to continue to work within the EU and with our partners in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world to change these statistics.

At December's European Council meeting, we again discussed the recent spike in energy prices and considered the impact of these price rises on the most vulnerable. We discussed this at October's meeting, and invited the European Commission to study the functioning of the gas and electricity markets with the help of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, ACER, as well as the EU emissions trading system market with the help of the European Securities Markets Authority. We also discussed the Commission's toolbox of measures and how best to provide short-term relief to the most vulnerable consumers and companies.

The Government's primary response is to utilise the tax and social welfare system to counter the rising costs of living, of which energy costs are one of the biggest drivers, with a number of measures implemented in budget 2022. The budget 2022 package increased the weekly rate of the fuel allowance by €5. It also increases the qualified child payment, the living alone allowance and the income threshold for the working family payment. This is in addition to adjustments to basic welfare and pension rates. A €210 million scheme has also been approved by Cabinet to credit all domestic electricity customers with €113 in 2022. Energy prices will continue to be a focus of attention in the period ahead.

At the Euro Summit on 16 December, leaders heard from the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, and the president of the Eurogroup, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Pascal

Donohoe, on economic prospects for the period ahead, including the recovery as we emerge from the pandemic and the likely future trajectory of inflation. Leaders agreed that continued close co-ordination of euro area fiscal policies remains important, with the objective of firmly establishing a sustainable and inclusive recovery. We also reiterated our commitment to completing banking union and strengthening the integration of our capital markets, including providing the Eurogroup with a strong mandate for advancing further work in this area. We will review progress at our next meeting in March.

Last Saturday, 22 January, marked a significant moment in contemporary Irish history. It was on this day, 50 years ago, at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels, that the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, along with the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and later President of Ireland, Dr. Patrick Hillery, signed the treaty on behalf of Ireland to join the European Communities. The signing ceremony in Brussels set in train a process that saw the people of Ireland voting in May 1972, by an overwhelming 83%, in favour of joining the European Economic Community, EEC, and ultimately, Ireland becoming a member state on 1 January 1973. Few events in our history as an independent State have been so transformative. It is, therefore, a welcome opportunity to encourage reflection, debate and exchange over coming months on the Ireland-European Union relationship, and how we can best contribute to a strong and shared future.

As we mark some of the significant milestones on the road to our membership in the period ahead, and as we contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe currently considering how the Union should progress, I hope we will share the optimism, aspiration and hope that informed those who signed this treaty for Ireland fifty years ago. Is deis í inniu, áfach, fáilte mhór chaoin a chur roimh dheireadh an mhaolaithe ar stádas na Gaeilge san Aontas Eorpach ó thús na bliana seo. Tá an Ghaeilge anois ar chomhchéim le teangacha bhunaitheoirí eile an Aontais Eorpaigh. Is dul chun cinn suntasach é agus treiseofar úsáid, pobal agus cnuas na Gaeilge mar thoradh.

Leaders will next meet at an EU-African Union summit in Brussels on 17 and 18 February, and at an informal summit in France on 10 and 11 March. These will be followed by a formal European Council meeting in Brussels on 24 and 25 March. I will continue to report to the House on these discussions.

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