Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No. I thank the Deputies for their statements and questions. I will address the issues that were discussed at the June European Council meeting. Two decades on from the Thessaloniki summit declaration, EU leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the western Balkans and stressed their need to spur reform across the region and accelerate merit-based EU accession. Regional stability, underpinned by improved neighbourly relations, is critical to that prospect. In that context, leaders condemned recent violence in northern Kosovo and called on parties to de-escalate tensions and re-engage with the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. The EU’s special representative, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, addressed the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs two weeks ago. As he outlined, the municipal elections held in northern Kosovo in April may have been legal but, with a turnout of under 4%, they were not legitimate. As such, leaders agreed on the need for early elections for all four municipalities. Beyond that, it is imperative the governments in Belgrade and Pristina recommit to the agreement on normalisation that was reached in North Macedonia in March. As the European Council underlined, this must include the establishment of an association or community of Serb-majority municipalities. I made these points last month when I visited Serbia and addressed the Prespa forum in North Macedonia.

As a beneficiary ourselves half a century ago, Ireland has always been among the strongest supporters of EU enlargement, but if the policy is to be credible, it must be fair and merit-based. To ensure the countries are prepared for the rigours of EU membership and to protect the integrity of the enlarged Union, candidate countries must reform their institutions and meet EU standards. Delivering such reform is difficult, but the rewards are real. As Mr. Lajčák observed, Russia’s brutal invasion has seen enlargement return to the top of the European political agenda. This presents an opportunity for the western Balkans, if they are prepared to take it. Across the EU, it is in our interests to do what we can to aid them in that effort.

Alongside the rest of the EU, Ireland is in favour of finding a comprehensive settlement to the situation in Cyprus in accordance with the relevant EU resolutions. We are strongly supportive of the efforts to facilitate the resumption of negotiations and we welcome the European Council's conclusions, which highlight the EU's readiness to support that process.

The European Council's request for a report from the High Representative and the European Commission on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations is also a positive step. A new EU-Tunisia partnership package covers five key pillars in co-operation between the EU and Tunisia. The package will support the resumption of political dialogue between the EU and Tunisia and the €900 million in support to the Tunisian economy will facilitate economic development, investment and trade in green technology, migration and people-to-people contact.

The Government is also committed to multilateralism and greater engagement with countries in Africa, as set out in the Government Africa strategy. The European Council's support for the reinforced presence of the African Union in international fora, including the G20, is very welcome.

I will now turn to some of the questions that have been asked. Deputy Ó Murchú asked about Cyprus and I responded to this in my closing remarks. I met the ambassador of Cyprus today who is finishing her term here. We affirmed our support for a UN-based solution. We are working through this and we have been a very strong supporter at the European summits.

A number of Deputies quite rightly raised the issue of Israel and Palestine. The Tánaiste issued a very strong statement earlier this month on the condemnation of illegal settlements and the violence perpetrated by Israel on Palestine. The response to it was very strong.

The issue of the western Balkans and the roadmap was raised and I touched on this in my speech. We are working with six countries in the western Balkans to try to assist their accession to the EU. President von der Leyen made a significant contribution in Bratislava recently. We have to see the flesh on the bones of the terms she set out with regard to potential staged membership for some of these countries so that we do not lose them. There is also the eastern trio of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. These are also progressing. The Commission will give an update in September on each of them with regard to conditionality and how they are progressing.

With regard to the Inflation Reduction Act, on 30 June at the European Council meeting the European Commission undertook to do an impact assessment on this in conjunction with EU member states. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is working on this. I will try to get an updated note on how it is progressing. In all our discourse over the period we have been very strong on not distorting the Single Market, ensuring we do not enter into a subsidies race and that there is an evidence-based approach to any decision taken. There is a significant risk, as has been pointed out, for countries with bigger economies to absorb the bigger industrial bases. This is a risk to Ireland. We are keeping a very close eye on this.

With regard to China, the human rights issues are significant. The Tánaiste made a significant contribution on our policy on China quite recently and covered in detail his concerns, which were well reported at the time. Europe is trying to derisk in terms of its reliance on China. This is a big part of our strategy. Legislation such as the critical raw materials act is coming forward to try to get to grips with the green transition so we are not reliant on a country of its scale and only it, arguably, for some of these components, leaving ourselves very vulnerable in keeping apace with the technology.

I have referenced Tunisia in my speech. I hear the concerns raised by Deputy Boyd Barrett and I will relay them back. It can be difficult to get a balance in trying to have bilateral agreements to improve other countries and improve their environmental standards, green technology and issues with regard to migration, which are significant on that side of Europe. I will raise Deputy Boyd Barrett's concerns, which are very troubling.

Deputies Mattie McGrath and Howlin raised issues of migration. The President gave a summation on the conclusions of the EU summit that were not reached. The two countries in question are not as accepting of the qualified majority process and want to bring it into the unanimity sphere at the European Council. The decision was taken already for the asylum and migration management regulation and the procedural regulation. Work must continue on both of these. I do not think we have yet made a Cabinet decision that we will be part of it but I understand the Government is positively looking at it. The key tenets of it are, in the first instance, ensuring our procedure is to adjudicate quickly on safe countries. The 12-week period is contained in the procedure regulation. There is also the burden-sharing aspect of it, which was referenced by Deputy McGrath.

Caps or limits with regard to Ukraine were mentioned. We have to be very careful that we do not breach the European Convention on Human Rights. We are a very outward-looking country and we can all be very proud of this. If we look back at where have come from, 50 years ago almost 5% of our population was born abroad and now the figure is one in every five. This shows how outward-looking a country we are. We are all the better for this diversity of the country.

Communities are doing great and heroic work in rising up to the challenge to assist and provide all the services for Ukrainian citizens who find themselves in this awful position. We have to be effusive in our support for Ukraine to maintain the international rules-based order against aggression, particularly for children, as referenced in the debate. I was struck by the number of children who have been abducted and taken into Russia. It is like a major reset. It was very distressing to hear first-hand testimony of it when I was at the UN.

With regard to Deputy Pringle and the European Peace Facility, Ireland takes forward a key component of this in neutrality. I have mentioned how I was struck by what happened to my Austrian colleague when she was in Ukraine. A missile hit a building adjacent to where she was. When first responders and firefighters arrived to try to save people and quench the flames, they were wearing Austrian uniforms. This shows what her country is doing through that facility in a neutral capacity. It really brought it home. Ireland can be very proud of what it is doing in terms of bringing spare parts for the grid and public infrastructure that have been damaged. We have heard about the parts for the dam and key supports that ordinary citizens need.

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