Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union states:

The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.

Any reading of this article clearly highlights the fact the EU is currently under pressure. There is no doubt we are now heading into a very turbulent period for Europe and indeed the wider world. The stark reality is we now face a number of global challenges. I will address some of these later. I will say something about Europe Day itself first.

Tomorrow, 9 May is the anniversary of the 1950 Schuman declaration. It is entirely appropriate we should set aside some time in this House to reflect on the EU and where it is going in the years ahead. The EU is first and foremost a peace project. It has brought decades of peace, prosperity and progress to the Continent following the devastation of the Second World War. We cannot take this peace for granted. In addition, as has been said many times before, the EU has been transformative since our entry to the then EEC in 1973. It has transformed our economy and our social laws as well as the cultural life of the country. We have seen from research published today by European Movement Ireland, having been undertaken by Amárach, that our EU membership has the support of 84% of the people of the Republic of Ireland. Although there is an increase in the number who say that the EU is moving in the wrong direction, we remain a very pro-European country.

What are the challenges facing the EU? The brutal and unlawful invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2020 is at the top of the list. War has returned to the Continent of Europe. This was a dramatic wake-up call for us regarding the threat posed by Vladimir Putin to the peace and security of Europe.

A number of EU states that border the Russian Federation are now under increased threat. That is why it is so important for the EU to continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. In addition, the invasion has resulted in a new focus being put on the security and defence of Europe. The debate in this regard is now under way. It is one that Ireland will have to be very conscious of.

It is clear for everyone to see that far-right populism, for want of a better term, is on the rise in the western world. Time does not allow me to analyse the reasons for this, of which there are many, but there is no doubt that this trend threatens our liberal democratic values and the very existence of centrist democracy. Respect for the rule of law is in decline in some member states. It has been said that there are at least some grounds for hope in light of recent political events in Poland. While I welcome the recent decision of the European Commission to drop the rule of law proceedings against Poland following the implementation of new policies by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, evidence of this right-wing populism is all around us. Intolerance is on the rise. Farmers are protesting against measures to tackle climate change under the European Green Deal. The migration issue is now centre stage. Indeed, you would sometimes have to wonder if the centre can, in fact, hold. The obvious problems and concerns faced by the citizens of Europe have to be tackled in a sensible and pragmatic manner. The best chance we have to do this is through co-operation with our fellow EU member states. Only in this way can we ensure the continuation of the peace, prosperity and progress we have fought so hard to achieve.

This is the year of elections across the globe. Next month, 450 million people will elect more than 700 MEPs to the European Parliament. Already we see how the rise of this far-right populism is feeding into the election campaign. It is likely that the new European Parliament and Commission will give greater priority to competition, trade and the general economic development of the EU and less attention to tackling climate change and the biodiversity crisis. Along with migration, security and defence are, as I have already said, moving centre stage. We can meet all these challenges head-on together. It is not a case of tackling one problem at the expense of another. It is not a zero-sum game. This is the way Europe has done it in the past and it must continue to do it in a unified way in the future.

The elections to the European Parliament next month are crucially important given all of the developments we have heard about during the debate so far. In this context, all of us, every voter, must be vigilant as regards the threat of disinformation. Electoral interference by bad-faith actors from domestic or foreign sources is a real concern. There are credible reports coming from the French authorities to the effect that Russia plans to flood Europe with disinformation prior to the European Parliament elections in order to disrupt them. The Electoral Commission and Coimisiún na Meán have a role to play in this regard. There is only so much they can do, however. Ultimately, every individual voter must be aware of this threat and take it on board when deciding how to cast his or her ballot.

We can be thankful that the enlargement of the EU is now firmly back on the EU agenda. I am thinking in particular of the countries of the western Balkans as well as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Ireland supports enlargement as a general principle. Membership has been good for us and enlargement is good for the EU as a whole. Applicant countries must certainly meet the Copenhagen criteria but geopolitical considerations in these regions also need to be taken into account. Ireland needs to prepare for enlargement. What is our stance on calls to reform the decision-making process in the EU and on calls for institutional reform and treaty change? How should the multi-annual financial framework be adopted to take into account the needs of the new member states? In this context, I am thinking particularly about changes to the CAP.

It is possible that membership of the EU could increase from 27 states to 35 in the years ahead. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern addressed this matter at a meeting of the Joint Committee on European Affairs this morning. I agreed with him when he said that we cannot again have a big bang entry of new member states like we had 20 years ago in 2004. Each country must be considered on a case-by-case basis and admitted by degrees once it has met the basic criteria. In addition, the EU should give those that are well on their way to meeting the eligibility criteria the practical assistance they need to achieve full membership.

As we in this country and those across Europe are all too aware, migration is now a major challenge of our time. It is up there along with the existential crisis of climate change. The EU pact on migration and asylum aims to tackle one aspect of this agenda. In my view, we simply cannot resolve this issue on our own. We need to work with our EU partners in this regard. Britain has tried to do it on its own and we can all see how it is going for them. We are better working together and we certainly cannot tear up the rule book while in the middle of this crisis.

The EU is certainly not perfect. It has its flaws. Its decision-making process is not pretty at times. For example, it is not good as regards foreign policy, as we have seen in its hopeless response to the terrible slaughter taking place in Gaza following the 7 October attacks in Israel. However, it did well in responding to the challenges presented by Brexit, Covid-19 and the Ukraine war. We must continue to press for improvement to tackle any perceived disconnect with the citizen and to ensure the EU does all it can to improve the quality of life of all those who live on this Continent.

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