Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 8, inclusive, together.

I participated in the western Balkans summit which took place on 13 December in Brussels. The meeting brought together EU leaders with their counterparts from six countries in the western Balkans, namely, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia. On conclusion of the summit, the EU and the leaders of the six western Balkan countries signed the Brussels Declaration. This reaffirms the EU membership perspective of the countries of the western Balkans and the commitment of the countries involved to continue to undertake the political and economic reforms required for EU accession, including in the area of the rule of law. The declaration also underlines the importance of economic development in the region, especially for building security, and welcomed the new growth plan for the western Balkans under which the European Union will provide substantial funding to the countries of the western Balkans.

On 14 and 15 December, I attended a meeting of the European Council. Leaders discussed their continued solidarity with Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, enlargement, the mid-term review of the EU’s multi-annual budget for 2021 to 2027, security and defence, migration, hybrid attacks, the fight against antisemitism, racism and xenophobia, and the EU strategic agenda for 2024 to 2029. EU leaders restated their condemnation of Russia’s war on Ukraine and reaffirmed their unwavering solidarity with Ukraine and its people. Overall assistance made available to Ukraine from the EU since the start of the war has reached approximately €85 billion. Leaders stressed the importance of consistent and predictable solidarity with Ukraine through the European Peace Facility, the EU military assistance mission and direct bilateral assistance from member states. We welcomed the agreement on the 12th package of sanctions and stressed the need to ensure compliance to avoid circumvention. Most significantly, in line with the recommendation of the Commission, we agreed to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia. I have long said that Ukraine’s future belongs within the EU family, and this is another important step in making that a reality.

Given the need to ensure sustainable financial assistance to Ukraine, it was disappointing we were unable to reach a consensus on the mid-term review of the multi-annual financial framework, which includes a new facility for Ukraine of up to €50 billion in grants and loans over four years. The package of an additional €64.6 billion in total, which includes additional funding for areas like migration, had the endorsement of 26 member states but was blocked by Hungary. The European Council will therefore return to the matter at a further meeting in Brussels next week on 1 February, and I hope it will be possible to reach agreement.

We also had a strategic debate on the Middle East, but given our very different perspectives, it was not possible to agree conclusions on the very serious situation in Gaza. In our discussion, I was joined by a majority of leaders in calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow much-needed humanitarian access and to enable the release of the remaining hostages.

Leaders resumed our discussion on the European Council’s strategic agenda for the period 2024 to 2029, which will provide guidance for the next institutional cycle, including in the area of enlargement and reforms. It is set to be adopted by the summer of 2024.

See this speech in context