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

I attended a meeting of the European Council on 14 and 15 December in Brussels. The agenda covered the Middle East, Ukraine, EU enlargement, the multi-annual financial framework, security and defence, migration, COP28, EU-Türkiye relations, the fight against antisemitism, racism and xenophobia, and the EU strategic agenda. In his contribution to today's debate, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, will provide further detail on enlargement, security and defence and migration. I will deal with all other issues.

At our meeting, leaders discussed the devastating situation in Gaza. With others, I argued for an immediate ceasefire to prevent the loss of further innocent civilian lives, to allow access for urgently needed humanitarian assistance and to facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist groups for far too long. This position was supported by a strong majority of member states on this occasion. However, a number of countries disagreed with the call for an immediate ceasefire, and as a result it was not possible to reach consensus on substantive conclusions. It was their view that a ceasefire would prevent Israel from anti-terror actions against Hamas. We do not agree with this assessment.

The Government will continue to press our position within the EU, at the UN, and in our international engagements. This conflict must stop. The killing must end. We have already seen horrific loss of human life, including the deaths of thousands of children. UN agencies and NGOs on the ground are warning of an imminent risk of extreme hunger and even famine. We have seen the wholesale destruction of homes and of vital civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, universities and the displacement of most of Gaza’s population. Civil society is on the brink of collapse, as people compete for desperately scarce resources as the weather gets colder. Tá cúrsaí dofhulaingthe agus is scannal don domhan é. Leanfaidh Éire ag obair ar son sos cogaidh láithreach. This situation is intolerable and a scandal to the world. Ireland will continue to work for an immediate ceasefire and a permanent peace. We will also work to ensure accountability for breaches of international humanitarian law on both sides.

The House is aware that South Africa is bringing an action against Israel under the genocide convention at the International Court of Justice. These proceedings deserve to be treated with the utmost seriousness. Genocide is the gravest of crimes, as it involves the intentional destruction of an entire people, in whole or in part. The court is expected to make its decision on provisional measures sought by South Africa in the near future. In doing so it will indicate whether it considers that there is any basis under the genocide convention to limit or suspend Israel’s military operations. Its decisions are final and binding. We will support and respect any ruling.

As this is a complex case, a ruling on the substantial issue, on whether or not Israel has breached the convention, could take many years. To date the hearings have involved only the two parties to the case, namely, Israel and South Africa. Other states that are party to the convention, including Ireland, can subsequently choose to intervene. This is something that the Government will consider very seriously indeed. If we decide that an intervention is warranted, we will submit one, as we have done previously, including in the case Ukraine is taking against Russia. Ultimately, however, any decision the court might make would not be binding on Hamas as it is not a party to the convention. We will, therefore, continue to pursue all possible diplomatic, political and humanitarian channels to alleviate the situation for the people of Gaza. Only a ceasefire on all sides can create the space for a political solution.

The worsening situation in the West Bank is also a serious concern. At the meeting of the European Council, I argued for sanctions against violent settlers who are attacking and displacing Palestinian communities. We want to see this agreed rapidly, and I really hope that we can see progress on this in the coming weeks. The Tánaiste in particular is working very hard on this. As the House knows, there can be no lasting and just peace and security for the people of Israel and Palestine without a sustainable political agreement, based on a two-state solution with the two states both viable and secure. The Government will continue to do anything that we can to bring this about.

The European Council also discussed Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine which has now been going on for almost two years. At our meeting we made the historic decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, recognising the remarkable progress Ukraine has made in undertaking essential reforms in the most difficult of circumstances. Our decision was an important signal of our ongoing commitment to Ukraine, and our firm belief that its peoples' future belongs within our Union. Ireland will continue to do all we can to help it progress along its European path. Ireland also fully supports the Commission's proposal for a Ukraine Facility, to put our financial support for Ukraine on a stable and reliable footing for the next four years.

I was disappointed that an agreement could not be reached at the December European Council. I am hopeful that it will be possible to reach agreement at the special meeting of the European Council on 1 February. Ukraine urgently needs this funding in order to maintain financial stability and continue to provide essential services. The European Council also discussed long-term military support for Ukraine and reiterated its commitment to providing assistance through the European Peace Facility, the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine and bilateral assistance by member states, and to contribute to future security commitments over the longer term.

The European Council returned in December to the proposed revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. The proposed revision covers sustainable multi-annual funding for Ukraine, migration and external action, investments in strategically important technologies, and technical adjustments to cover higher interest costs on next generation EU borrowings. The negotiating box presented by President Michel to guide our discussions provided for an additional financial envelope of €64.6 billion, including €50 billion for the Ukraine Facility, comprising €17 billion in grants and €33 billion in loans; €9.6 billion for migration; and €1.5 billion for STEP, which is the strategic technologies for Europe platform.

President Michel’s proposal reduced the amount of new moneys needed to €21 billion by reprioritising and reallocating €10.6 billion already in the budget. This was a significant reduction from the almost €66 billion extra originally proposed by the Commission. President Michel’s proposal was acceptable to 26 countries, including Ireland. However, Hungary was not prepared to agree. In the period since our meeting discussions have continued and, as I have said, I hope it will be possible for us to sign off on the package when we meet on 1 February.

At our meeting in December, President Michel also updated us on the work to prepare the European Council’s strategic agenda for the period from 2024 to 2029. This will guide the work of the European Council over the coming five years. President Michel wrote to leaders in June 2023, setting out proposed priorities. These are EU external relations, security and defence, energy, our economic and social base, migration, and the protection and promotion of EU values. Work was launched at the informal meeting of members of the European Council in Granada in October and continued via a series of smaller meetings in Berlin, Copenhagen, Zagreb and Paris in November. I attended the small meeting in Copenhagen.

Having heard from leaders in December, President Michel will now begin to formulate proposals, to be considered at a further round of consultations, before the work is concluded by the European Council in June.

Ireland will continue to reflect on our priorities as a fully engaged and enthusiastic member of the European Union and we will feed into the development of the strategic agenda in the months ahead. I will continue to keep the House informed of progress on this and other strands of the European Council’s work in the period ahead.

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