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

I attended a meeting of the European Council on Thursday, 15 December in Brussels. The agenda covered Ukraine, energy and economic issues, security and defence and external relations issues. In his contribution to the debate, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, will provide further detail on discussions on European Union enlargement and outline the priorities of the Swedish Presidency of the EU, which commenced on 1 January. I will address all other issues.

Before turning to the European Council, I would like to take the opportunity to update the House on my participation at the EU-Association of Southeast Asian States, ASEAN, summit on 14 December 2022 in Brussels. This event marked 45 years of diplomatic relations between the two regions. The summit was co-chaired by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the 2022 ASEAN chair, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The summit was an opportunity for European Union and ASEAN leaders to reaffirm our partnership as one based on shared values and principles, such as support for the rules-based international order, respect of territorial integrity, and effective and sustainable multilateralism. Our two regional integration organisations became strategic partners in 2020. The broad agenda for the summit reflected the breadth of that growing partnership and included peace and security, connectivity and digital transition, clean and just energy transition, economic co-operation and trade, sustainable development, climate change and energy, the Covid-19 pandemic and regional and international issues.

We welcomed the signing of the EU-ASEAN comprehensive air transport agreement, the first ever region-to-region aviation agreement. We also welcomed the EU-ASEAN plan of action 2023-2027, which will see co-operation over the coming period on pandemic recovery, sustainable trade, rules-based and sustainable connectivity, promoting decent work, disaster preparedness and security co-operation.

I will now turn to the agenda of the December European Council. At the European Council, EU leaders condemned the despicable and indiscriminate missile and drone attacks against civilians across Ukraine. These attacks are having a devastating impact on Ukraine’s energy and other critical civilian infrastructure and their sole aim is to terrorise the Ukrainian population. In particular, these attacks are exacerbating an already critical humanitarian situation in Ukraine, in the midst of winter. Despite this, the people of Ukraine remain strong, resolute and determined that Russia will not win its war of aggression. Last December, Ireland contributed a further €25 million in budget support to the government of Ukraine to assist in dealing with expenditure, including over the winter, and to support SMEs. This funding has been made via the World Bank Trust Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We will continue this steadfast support of Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Ireland has also consistently supported imposing sanctions in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. At the European Council, leaders discussed how to increase our collective pressure on Russia and we underlined the importance of ensuring effective implementation, and preventing circumvention, of sanctions. Additionally, leaders noted the EU’s agreement to provide a macro-financial assistance package of €18 billion for Ukraine. I am pleased that the first instalment of €3 billion was made subsequently on 17 January. This package comes on top of the €6.7 billion in macro-financial assistance, which has been disbursed since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Leaders are also committed to promoting accountability for violations of international law arising out of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Ireland is supportive of the idea of establishing a special tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression. However, there are a number of significant political, legal and practical challenges, including the immunity of senior Russian officials under international law, that need to be resolved for the idea to be realised. We need to identify options that would allow us to overcome them to ensure the effectiveness, legitimacy and credibility of any such tribunal.

On the prospects for peace, the European Council reiterated that it is ready to support Ukraine’s initiative for a just peace. While the conditions do not currently exist for peace negotiations, when the Taoiseach spoke by phone with President Zelenskyy on 10 January, and when I spoke by phone with the Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba on 13 January, we conveyed the clear message that it is up to Ukraine to determine the terms, conditions and time line for any peace agreement. We are continuing to reflect on how Ireland might best contribute to the objectives of the plan; we are already involved in many of the areas it covers, including food security, accountability and nuclear safety.

On energy, at the December European Council, we reviewed progress on the implementation of the measures in the October Council conclusions aimed at bringing improved co-ordination, stability, and predictability to the energy market. We emphasised the importance of phasing out EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels through stepping-up investment in innovation, infrastructure and interconnections, renewable energy, and energy efficiency projects. We underlined the importance of strengthening co-ordination and agreed that work should continue on: the speedy operationalisation joint purchasing, as well as an acceleration of discussions with reliable partners to secure long-term supply contracts; the efficient filling of gas storage facilities and the close monitoring gas demand reduction objectives; and the early preparation of contingency plans for winter 2023-24.

We invited the Commission to speed up work on the structural reform of the EU’s electricity market, which is intended to make the market fully fit for a decarbonised energy system and facilitate the uptake of renewable energy. We agreed that the ongoing energy crisis endangers the EU’s economic, industrial and technological base, requiring an ambitious European industrial policy to make Europe’s economy fit for the green and digital transitions and reduce strategic dependencies.

The special meeting of the European Council on 9 and 10 February will return to economic issues. This follows our agreement in December on the need for a co-ordinated response to enhance Europe’s economic resilience and its global competitiveness while preserving the integrity of the Single Market.

The Commission has been invited to conduct an analysis and to make proposals with a view to mobilising all relevant national and EU tools as well as to improving framework conditions for investment, including through streamlined administrative procedures. Work of the joint EU-US task force on the US Inflation Reduction Act is also ongoing. Europe needs a positive working relationship with the United States on the green transition; one that strengthens the transatlantic relationship, upholds the multilateral system, and builds an open, thriving marketplace for our innovators and investors. We need to avoid going down the road of a subsidy race when we face so many common challenges.

The December European Council also invited the European Commission to present, in early 2023, a strategy at EU level to boost competitiveness and productivity. The growth and innovation gap between Europe and its global competitors requires our focus.

In December, the Council took stock of the current security situation in Europe. In this light, leaders agreed to move forward to advance common procurement and joint investment strategies at an EU level. This is important in the wake of the war in Ukraine, which has put pressure on military inventories across Europe, as countries seek to assist Ukraine in its self-defence. Common procurement and capability development also have the potential to be valuable for smaller member states such as Ireland, given that we are currently embarking on an ambitious programme of investment in our Defence Forces.

The Council also took further steps to build a more secure cyberspace, with leaders supporting the creation of an EU policy on cyber defence, to be developed further over the coming months. In addition, it called for the swift implementation of the EU hybrid toolbox, with a view to countering hybrid threats and foreign interference and manipulation of information.

Importantly, the Council endorsed the political decision to increase the overall financial ceiling of the European peace facility by €2 billion. The decision sends an important signal of support to Ukraine and other partners, including in Africa, that the EU stands ready to fulfil our commitments around the globe.

In addition to a strategic discussion on transatlantic relations, which I have addressed, leaders had a strategic exchange on relations with the Southern Neighbourhood, which includes ten partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. I informed leaders of the tragic death of Private Sean Rooney in Lebanon and leaders expressed their condolences.

The European Council also discussed the situation in Iran, calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the use of the death penalty and to cease the unjustifiable use of force against peaceful protesters, particularly targeted at and against women.

The Taoiseach will travel to Brussels on 9 and 10 February for a special meeting of the European Council when leaders will again discuss developments in Ukraine, economic issues and migration.

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