Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach for a report on his attendance at the third EU-CELAC summit in Brussels in July 2023. [36286/23]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I attended the third summit of the EU and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, in Brussels on 17 and 18 July. It is co-chaired by European Council President, Charles Michel, and the President of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves. It was also the first meeting at leaders’ level between the regions in eight years.

At the summit, leaders discussed ways to enhance relations between us, including enhanced co-operation in multilateral forums, global peace and security, trade and investment, efforts to combat climate change and justice and security for citizens. At the end of the summit, we adopted a declaration, which was endorsed by all countries but one, and we agreed to hold summits every two years. We agreed the next summit will be held in Colombia in 2025.

On the margins, I had a bilateral meeting with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley at which we discussed Ireland’s growing strategic focus on the Caribbean region and our wish to act as a partner for the Caribbean within the EU. I also informed her of our plans to establish a Caribbean office in Miami. Barbados will open an embassy in Dublin quite soon. I also met with the Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles. We discussed our wish to further enhance bilateral engagement through our office for Central America in Mexico. We also discussed trade, migration and multilateral cooperation.

The summit also provided the opportunity for many informal exchanges with Latin American leaders, including the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, the Chilean President, Gabriel Boric, the Mexican Foreign Minister, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Grenada, Joseph Andall. I also spoke with the acting Haitian President, Ariel Henry, and the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, at the summit dinner. In my intervention, I welcomed growing links between the regions and the importance of our shared commitment to democratic values. I stressed the importance of standing with Ukraine against a fundamental breach of the UN Charter and international law that represents a threat to all of us.

I also highlighted the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the need to promote gender and LGBT+ rights, and those of indigenous peoples. Leaders signed a declaration committing to enhanced engagement on climate change, the reform of international financial structures, and the importance of working towards achieving more inclusive sustainable development.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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The meeting between the EU and Latin American and Caribbean states was a welcome development. Given the current geopolitical situation, the EU needs friends at this time. The risks posed by Russia and China are something of which the EU is very much aware.

Many interesting snippets emerged from the summit last July. For example, we learned that the UK was unhappy that the final ten-page declaration contained a reference to the Islas Malvinas, or Falkland Islands, at the insistence of Argentina, so the fall-out from Brexit continues. The Irish delegation's rooms were commandeered by the Colombian, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan delegates, as well as European Council president Charles Michel, in order to hammer out an agreed wording regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I guess that was practical diplomacy in action.

What is the Irish position concerning the Mercosur trade deal with the EU? Trade deals are generally good for Irish companies and businesses, but I am aware of concerns in the beef and dairy sectors regarding environmental standards. We need to ensure that the same standards apply to Latin America as to the EU. In short, we need tougher environmental protections in this proposed deal.

Was there any discussion at the summit of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest? Continued deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is releasing carbon emissions and causing catastrophic biodiversity loss. The current President of Brazil, Mr. Lula da Silva, is certainly doing much more in this regard than his predecessor, President Bolsonaro. I am interested in whether this issue was addressed at the summit.

Was there any discussion at the summit regarding the drugs cartels in South America and the illegal drugs trade to Europe? As we know, this is very much in the news today in Ireland.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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The EU-CELAC summit discussed global peace and security. Did the issue of the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh come up? What is the Government's position on that? Ethnic cleansing is happening before our eyes while the authoritarian Aliyev regime remains an EU ally. Von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, flew to Baku last year to sign an agreement to double the supply of gas from Azerbaijan to the EU, yet Aliyev was threatening as long ago as October 2020 to ethnically cleanse Armenians from the region proclaiming, "that if they do not leave our lands of their own free will, we will chase them away like dogs". Armenians understandably fear that this could escalate into a second genocide. More than a third of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, 42,500 people, have fled following Azerbaijan's offensive last week and a ten-month blockade that caused severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel.

What is the EU or the Government doing to help the people of Nagorno-Karabakh? Will the Government advocate for the EU, including Ireland, to grant refuge to Armenians fleeing the war, as it has done for the people of Ukraine?

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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It does not often happen that I back up a significant amount of what has been said. On what Deputy Paul Murphy said about what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh, we all know the issues that have happened across the board as regards genocide. This is not the first time this has happened to Armenians. We know their long history. It is vital that the Government steps up on the right side of the arguments no matter what other geopolitical considerations are in place.

I will also point out we have particular worries regarding the Mercosur deal and Brazilian beef. That goes without saying. I am fairly sure the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, will meet with Deputies later. I imagine it will also put forward its worries regarding that particular issue.

We all know the issue in respect of Latin America. It is a serious part of the drugs supply chain. Dealing with both the supply and demand end of drugs is very difficult. We know about harm reduction and it is hoped the citizens' assembly will come up something more novel than what we have operated. We saw a vital drugs haul operation that was carried out by the joint Garda and Naval Service task force, despite all the capacity difficulties they have. That is something that really needs to be addressed. The Army ranger wing was involved in what was an audacious operation. We would like to see more of that; the more the merrier. I do not think anyone would have a complaint about that. Drugs cause an absolute issue in our communities and across the board. I am interested in what conversations happened regarding that issue.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for their questions.

Regarding Deputy Haughey's questions first, it is the case that Irish delegation rooms were used for talks involving the key players trying to secure agreement on the language, particularly relating to Ukraine, although that was done entirely for logistical reasons. It just so happened we had a room free and we were near the other delegation rooms.

As the House will know, the United Kingdom is not in the European Union anymore, so it had no input into the EU-CELAC declaration.

In terms of Mercosur, the agreement, as the House will know, is designed to cement the close political and economic relations between the EU and Mercosur countries and represents a commitment to rules-based international trade. Since formal negotiations concluded, the global trade policy has changed considerably. The rise in protectionism, the economic impacts of Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the accompanying impacts on global supply chains have demonstrated the importance of diversifying our import and export markets by securing robust and competitive trade deals with global partners. Ireland remains committed to free, fair and open trade, and forging greater economic links with the Mercosur region will assist us in our objective of market diversification. Negotiating and ratifying free trade agreements, FTAs, requires continued engagement and outreach with various stakeholders to allay underlying concerns and to ensure the FTAs agreed are balanced and consider EU priorities across all sectors.

Ireland and a number of other member states have raised concerns regarding the strength of the trade and sustainability commitments in the agreement, and discussions are ongoing between the chief negotiators from Mercosur and the EU on a joint interpretative instrument. The Government strongly encourages both sides to intensify discussions and come to an agreement during the Commission’s mandate. I do not know if that will be possible, but without a joint interpretative instrument that gives us the assurances we need on the environment and sustainability, we will not be able to support the ratification of the agreement.

Regarding the Amazon, President Lula da Silva gave us an update on the work that he has been doing to slow down the loss of the Amazon and reverse it. I think it is fair to say that he is taking a very different approach from his predecessor, one that is much more favourable to the world’s climate and biodiversity concerns.

Ireland condemns the military escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh. We are closely monitoring developments. The actions come on top of an already dire humanitarian situation following a months-long blockade that has prevented essential supplies from reaching the local population. We welcome the news of a ceasefire and we back EU calls for restraint on all sides. We hope the ceasefire will be respected and will allow a genuine dialogue to take place. However, we are concerned about a large exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region. This will require a European response. The issue was not discussed at the EU-CELAC meeting, but I expect it will be discussed at the European Political Community meeting next week, which both Azerbaijan and Armenia are likely to attend.