Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the meeting of the European Council on 29 and 30 October 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38346/09]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 2: To ask the Taoiseach the meetings he held on the margins of the recent European Council meeting in Brussels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38347/09]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 3: To ask the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the outcome on the European Council meeting held in Brussels on 29 and 30 October 2009. [38546/09]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

I attended the European Council in Brussels on 29 and 30 October. As I will make a statement in the House later, I will merely give a summary account of the proceedings.

The Council discussed institutional issues, including implementation of the Lisbon treaty and agreement was reached in regard to the Czech position. I warmly welcome that following the Czech constitutional court's dismissal of the last challenge to the Lisbon treaty, President Klaus signed the Czech instrument of ratification on 3 November. Czech ratification will be complete when this instrument is deposited in Rome. I looked forward to seeing the treaty enter into force in December.

In regard to climate change, the Council agreed a clear and ambitious mandate for the negotiations in Copenhagen in December, including endorsing the global figure of €100 billion in international financing per year by 2020 and committing to paying a fair share of that. The Council also discussed the financial and economic situation, illegal immigration and external relations. I had a bilateral meeting with President Barroso and I informally met the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Since that meeting, the Taoiseach will be aware of developments taking place. As I pointed out yesterday, 22 of the 27 countries have nominated their personnel for consideration for commissionerships. The Swedish Prime Minister has said there will be a summit meeting of Heads of Government on 19 November at which I hope the decision on the appointment of a President of the Council will be concluded. He also said this appointment would almost certainly be one of the sitting Heads of Government or a former Head of Government.

It appears there is some fluctuation in the names going forward for the position of High Representative and President of the Council. I am glad the Taoiseach and the Government support an Irish candidate for the position of President of the Council, namely, former Taoiseach, John Bruton. I hope that as the week moves on, it will be possible to build on that application.

What Europe needs now, in the context of the Presidency of the Council, is not somebody who wants to be out front as the person who epitomises Europe in all its respects but somebody who can tie the ambitions of the countries together and consolidate Europe's current position before it moves on to the next phase of being able to stand against the Far East and emerging phenomena around the world in financial terms, in terms of globalisation, climate change and so on. From that point of view, I welcome the Taoiseach's support for a former Taoiseach. Has he received any further information from any of the Heads of Government or other sources as to whether this matter is being finalised either in the context of the High Representative, who will have to be a Commissioner, or the President of the Council itself?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Swedish Presidency has been in contact with me. I have spoken to the Swedish Prime Minister in regard to this matter. He is engaged in his first round of consultation with Heads of Government. I indicated to him our position in regard to the matter. We await to see what he gauges to be the situation having spoken to everybody, I presume, on a bilateral and confidential basis. He will then be able to inform us of his view on the level of support for various candidates mentioned and take it from there. That he set a European Council meeting for tomorrow week this morning would indicate to me that further rounds of consultation will take place between now and then.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I assume the Taoiseach will attend that meeting. If there is a summit meeting of the European People's Party of which I am a member, I will be happy to attend and to lend my voice to that.

Did the Taoiseach confirm that a conclusion was reached at the Council meeting about the transfer of €100 billion in respect of the climate change challenge between now and 2020? Is he hopeful some kind of conclusion can be reached in Copenhagen? From the meetings of the Heads of Government who are part of the European People's Party, there seems to be serious concern that there may not be the drive to sign up to it, in particular in regard to the United States, China and India, and that it may not be possible to reach a conclusion or an agreement in Copenhagen. Does the Taoiseach have a view on that? Was any decision arrived at by the Heads of Government at the meeting in Brussels?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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In regard to the conclusions, the European Council endorsed the global figure of €100 billion in international financing per year by 2020 and committed to paying a fair share of that. It is very conditional and it remains to be seen what emerges from other regions of the world and other powers as to what they will do in regard to their contribution to this international public financing provision which is part of the means by which mitigation and adaption measures can be provided for developing countries in order that we an overall and comprehensive agreement.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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In response to Deputy Kenny, the Taoiseach said he had discussions with the Swedish Prime Minister as Sweden holds the EU Presidency. In those discussions, did the Taoiseach discuss particular candidates for both the position of High Representative and Presidency of the EU Council? Does he expect appointments, or nominations, for both positions will be made at the summit meeting on 19 November?

The Taoiseach said yesterday that the Government would shortly announce its nominee for Irish Commissioner. Has President Barroso had any discussions with him in regard to the possible portfolios an Irish Commissioner might have?

In regard to the proposed €100 billion international fund for climate change, is it the case that the European Union contribution to that fund will be approximately €15 billion, as has been reported? Has any estimate been done as to what the Irish contribution might be to such a fund? Has that formed part of the Government's thinking in regard to budgetary matters?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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On the first matter, given the nature of the discussions, they are pending an assessment by the Swedish Prime Minister as to what the overall situation might be. These are bilateral and confidential discussions. I can confirm that my position in regard to the Presidency is my public position which I outlined to the Deputy .

In regard to the High Representative position, it remains to be seen what candidates emerge. I understand there was some indication of the possible candidacy of David Miliband, the UK Foreign Secretary, but I understand he has indicated that he is not a candidate. I brought to the Swedish Prime Minister's attention the candidacy of Mr. Rehn from Finland, who is a person I could support if there was sufficient support for him. He has been a very effective Commissioner. We must wait to see the levels of support there. This situation will evolve in the coming days. I wait to hear from the Swedish Presidency for its assessment after it has spoken to everyone.

My meeting with President Barroso was a general discussion. He has made it clear that portfolios are not ascribed to countries, rather to individuals. He is also making it clear that until the High Representative is appointed he is not in a position to pursue the composition of his Commission in any final way until he sees who is to be the High Representative. The difference now is that under the Lisbon treaty provisions the High Representative is also Vice-President of the Commission. Until he has that name before him and endorsed by the European Council, which is a requirement under the Lisbon treaty, he is not in a position to conduct further discussions or come to any conclusions on the composition of the Commission in general.

I have spoken to him about this position. As a result of our second Lisbon treaty referendum decision, one Commissioner per member state is now available to all member states and is a decision to which we ascribe great importance. My discussions with President Barroso were along the lines that we want to work closely with him. He has indicated some of his overall requirements but we must make a decision, taking into account what is best for the country. We have excellent people who have indicated their availability.

On the question of climate change, no internal burden-sharing decisions have been taken within the EU in respect of our contribution to it since we are in the midst of a negotiation ahead of the Copenhagen conference. We have indicated what is the global figure and that the European Union is prepared to pay its fair share. We are waiting to see what others are prepared to do in this regard. No final decisions have yet been taken in the midst of negotiation. On the question of internal burden-sharing, separate from whatever emerges from Copenhagen, a working group has been set up with the European Union in order to finalise the internal burden-sharing arrangements.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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In respect of the position of High Representative and President of the Council, in earlier replies on previous occasions, the Taoiseach indicated both here and in public commentary the expectation that the position of High Representative would be appointed first then followed by the rest of the Commission and that the issue of the Presidency of the Council was something that might be dealt with separately from that. Does the Taoiseach expect that just the High Representative will be appointed at the summit meeting on 19 November or does he expect the President of the Council will also be appointed, that the two positions will be dealt with at that stage?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I just heard on my way down to the House this morning that the Swedish Presidency announced it would hold a European Council meeting tomorrow week. I expect that both positions will be filled at that meeting. From speaking to colleagues at the Berlin function on Monday evening, I have the impression that a decision will be taken sooner rather than later on both positions. This is my reading of the situation although I have not seen the communiqué from the Swedish Presidency but I presume both positions will be filled.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Is the Taoiseach aware of the growing and justified cynicism in Ireland and throughout Europe at the wheeling and dealing around the appointment of someone to the newly-created position of the presidency of the Council of Europe? Would he accept that what is involved here is the putting in place of someone at a very senior position within the unelected bureaucracy of the European Union and about whom the people have no say? Will he tell the House the criteria he has put together with his colleagues in the Department or across the Cabinet in determining where Irish Government support would rest with regard to any nominee, anyone challenging for this position? The most obvious names that resonate here at home include Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, whose very important role in helping to bring about major political change on this island I acknowledge. Nevertheless, would the Taoiseach agree that a criteria applying would have to take on board his disastrous co-arrangement with George Bush on the war in Iraq and that this should be a factor in any consideration? For my part, despite other undoubted positive aspects of his tenure, specifically with regard to Ireland, I would think this would be an eliminating factor.

It appears that the Taoiseach had an almost knee-jerk reaction to the suggestion that former Taoiseach and current EU Ambassador to the United States, John Bruton, would enter the race. Is it not ironic that the Taoiseach declared his support without apparently giving any consideration to the suitability of the candidate on a raft of different levels? People here in the corridors of these Houses are of the view that if former Deputy John Bruton were to be nominated by Fine Gael to stand for the Presidency of Ireland post the current President's term in office, the Taoiseach would oppose him and would come up with a nominee to oppose him. This is very likely the scenario that would present itself yet without any apparent time being taken to evaluate his suitability for the position - I am not saying he is not suitable - there are no apparent criteria set with regard to the Taoiseach's and this Government's support for whomever they decide to back in the current race. My point is this is absolutely unacceptable and it is unacceptable to people when they see the greater concentration of power now within the European Union within an unelected bureaucracy and such power only copper-fastened by the passage of the Lisbon treaty. Here we see again another exercise in the allocation of an unelected office. This whole procedure vexes people who have argued for reform of the European Union and the introduction of real democratic practices which clearly, the filling of this position is not.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I do not agree with Deputy Ó Caoláin's analysis. During the course of the Lisbon treaty referendum campaign we had this discussion about what are the institutional arrangements and - something Deputy Ó Caoláin disagrees with - what is the democratic validity of democratically elected leaders of governments meeting for the purpose of adopting common policies, co-decision-making powers with a directly elected European Parliament, and a Commission that acts as guarantor of the treaties for all member states, large or small. These institutional arrangements are what have made the European Union successful and where exclusive conferences at EU level are allied to conferences at national level. The EU is a union of states and peoples. I do not see anything undemocratic in directly elected Heads of Government of 27 democracies sitting down at a European Council to decide who should chair a meeting. It is absurd to suggest this is undemocratic. I could not figure out the logic behind or understand the view of the Deputy's party that we should have a directly elected President of the Council, elected by all the people of Europe. It was something I saw somewhere along the way and the suggestion was that it was perhaps more democratic. One may ask the question of how that democratic validity marries with the democratic legitimacy of the Heads of Government. Such thinking has not worked out from Sinn Féin's point of view.

The Lisbon treaty represents a consensus and a compromise. It is the agreed means by which the European Union will develop in the foreseeable future and for a long time. That is the way it is and that is the emerging consensus. People can hold individual views about how it should be, but I believe in the community method and the community method will inform our position in respect of the filling of these vacancies as well. The community method is about trying to develop a consensus around an agreed candidate. A number of people have been spoken about. Some have declared themselves publically and others have not. Others may be available should there be an agreement among colleagues that they should take up the position.

At any time the EU Presidency has the responsibility to assess and ascertain the level of support for prospective candidates and how to proceed and to get a decision. It has been indicated that this is how the decision will be made tomorrow week. I can do nothing for the Deputy if he holds a cynical view of it. That is the procedure, that is what has been agreed and that is what has been adopted constitutionally in many parliaments and through a referendum in this country. This treaty will probably come into force on 1 December and contains a provision that there will be a President of the Council. The President of the Council may be an existing member of the Council, a former member or, perhaps, in theoretical terms, someone who was never a member of the Council. However, when a group of leaders ask someone to chair a meeting, it is likely it will be someone with whom they are acquainted, in whom they have confidence and someone whom they may personally know or who has a reputation as someone who is capable of doing the job.

The position in respect of the former Taoiseach, Mr. John Bruton, is that before the last European Council meeting he wrote and indicated his availability in particular in the event that no existing member of the Council was available to take up the position. He let it be known that his name could be considered in that respect. Given his position as a former Taoiseach and his current position as ambassador to the United States on behalf of the EU, he is entitled to put forward his availability. As leader of the Government, I made it clear, as I should, that regardless of our political differences in domestic politics, I would bring his experience and the merits of his candidacy to the attention of anyone who was interested, who inquired about it or who wanted to know, if they did not already know. They would know from the correspondence he sent. There is no problem with that.

I will not speculate on the candidates to emerge beyond the tenure of this or any other election. That is a matter for democratic decision. People can put forward who they wish and there is no harm in that; it is called democracy. However, in the meantime if a person shows an interest in a position and I believe he is capable, on all objective merit, of doing the job there is no reason that as a fellow Irishman I should not indicate the merits of his candidacy. There are others who claim they can do the job too. The question of who will emerge as a candidate at the end of the day is a matter for political discussion. These are political decisions. One does not go and examine a book on political science to find out the criteria for this job.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is correct.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The criteria for the job are simple and they include whether one has the confidence of one's colleagues to run the show.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Exactly.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It is not that complicated in that respect. I take the point that it is an important position and it must be carefully considered. It is being considered and we are at the early stages of the discussion on who will emerge. That is politics; it is not an exact science but that is the way it is.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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In case he is wondering, the Taoiseach does not have the confidence of all his colleagues. However, I am looking at the situation as it presents. My concern is that I see the wheeling and dealing and the fact that there is no particular criteria. The Taoiseach may deny the presentation of it as he pleases but it appears he was wrong footed and that there was not in place a process by which a collective decision of the Government would be taken or any basis for the consideration of it. None of that came through in terms of the unfolding opera we have witnessed in the past several weeks. That is a fact of life.

I am not an advocate of direct elections in respect of European positions of high office, created by a succession of treaties I do not support. However, I must consider the reality now because, sadly, the Taoiseach had his way in the having the Lisbon treaty adopted by a majority of the people the second time around. There it is and we must live with it for now at least. My point related to what I believe is a fundamental weakness and flaw in the Government's approach to this and its decision making in respect of it. It is not enough to say he is from down the road, that we know him well, that he is a fellow Irishman or whatever is the case. That is not enough.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I did not say that.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach said that he was a fellow Irishman and is that not good enough.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It is about the office.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It must go a little deeper than that. Let us make no mistake about it and it is not lost on people that the Taoiseach would not have supported Mr. Bruton if his nomination had been presented for the Presidency of Ireland. There is no question about it.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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We are not discussing the Presidency of Ireland at the moment; we are discussing the Presidency of the European Council. The former Taoiseach, Mr. Bruton, put his name forward and I can extoll the merits of the man. I have known him as a parliamentarian since I entered the House in 1984. He has been a committed European.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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This is not about John Bruton.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's comments were about John Bruton.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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No. My comments were about the Taoiseach and the criteria.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Let me answer the question and explain the criterion in terms of my support for Mr. Bruton's availability, should it be required or should it be possible for that to happen. I have indicated it. His record and commitment to the European Union has been consistent, passionate and committed. On European matters there is much with which I would agree and perhaps very little with which I would disagree in respect of Mr. Bruton, considering the national view. There are many people in the House from different parties and associated with other parties in Europe about whom I could say the same, so that is not the issue.

The issue is how the President of the Council will be appointed. That is the nub of the Deputy's question. It will be done by agreement among the Heads of Government at a European Council meeting, hopefully to be concluded on 19 November. Presumably, at that stage the EU Presidency will be in a position to put a proposal to the Council for its consideration. The process works based on consultation among Heads of Government by the EU Presidency. We will see what emerges and how we get to it. That is the way it works, out of respect for every country, every Head of Government, the candidates who may put forward their names or a person who may be asked to take the position and who may not yet have declared candidacy. I cannot be any more specific than that.

Ireland will play its role. We have a constructive role to play in respect of people. I have no fundamental objection to any existing member of the Council becoming President of the Council. They are all colleagues and they have all shown great solidarity to Ireland in recent times. They listened to what we had to say and to what was said at the all-party committee in respect of the issues we believed needed to be dealt with in a substantive way before we could put a second referendum. Solidarity has been shown to us. Europe is a two way street. In fact, it is a 27-way street. However, in whatever way we can constructively engage with colleagues to come up with competent people to do the job, we will do so. An Irishman has made his position clear and he will be available in certain circumstances. I do not see why I would not support this, should there be sufficient support for his candidacy.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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A good Irish candidate has declared for the position of President of the European Council and a number of candidates have declared their interest in the Commissioner position. I am sure the Taoiseach will do the right thing in the interests of the country in that respect. My question concerns the European Council meeting. I am pleased to see that there is a special summit on 19 December, one month before the winter summit was planned. The Swedish Presidency is showing a sense of urgency. Is this a full summit? Will it deal only with the Lisbon treaty coming into force and a number of appointments? Will it also deal with addressing the Copenhagen conference on climate change? Will there be further advances in that respect?

Employment was tentatively dealt with at the summit. There was recognition that there is a deteriorating situation through the EU regarding unemployment. All that member states seem to be thinking of doing is discussing the review of the Lisbon strategy. That is extremely tentative for a matter as serious as this.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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My reply made the point that the Council discussed the financial and economic situation. We can examine this issue in more detail during the upcoming statements on the European Council. ECOFIN is engaged in regulatory change and reform of financial services. At the December meeting there will be an important discussion arising from decisions taken at ECOFIN by the Council to consider the economic and financial response.

Regarding what will take place at next week's meeting, I am at a slight disadvantage because on my way to the House I was informed that the Swedish Presidency called the meeting for tomorrow week. I expect it will primarily concern institutional matters. Since the Council meeting of 29 and 30 October the President of the Commission has been to Delhi and the United States on the climate change issue. I do not have precise information on whether he will be in a position to report back to the Council on that matter next Thursday but it may occur.