Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

This morning at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs attended by some of my colleagues, we had a discussion with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Georgia. It was certainly good to hear from a Foreign Minister of a former Soviet bloc country who now sees the future of her country as part of the broader European family.

That brings me to the question of Turkey, to which the Taoiseach referred. I welcome that significant progress has been made with regard to Turkey and the idea that Turkey may eventually become part of the European Union. However, I appreciate the many miles which must be travelled prior to this happening. Significant reform has begun in Turkey from an economic, human rights and social point of view.

One of the greatest attributes of enlarging and developing Europe is that those countries which seek to become part of the European family must agree to take on board the democratic, open values of equality and justice that are very much part of the European agenda. We hope to see that developing in Turkey, which I believe will eventually join the European Union. Turkey will bring a young and vibrant population that will be in marked contrast to the current demographic profile faced by the European Continent. We have an aging population and a reducing workforce. That is an enormous challenge facing the present European Union of 25 members. This matter requires urgent attention. We have not faced up to the fact that our economy will have to import hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers. We have not taken on board the political and social debate on this issue. The same is true of the rest of Europe.

We are not making enough progress on the Lisbon Agenda. Perhaps other speakers will also refer to this matter. The Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, impacts to a great extent on this country, especially rural Ireland, which has traditionally been a big supporter of the European project. Sadly, it is now clear that the only political aim of the present British EU Presidency appears to be an attack on the CAP. We must strongly resist the British efforts to dismantle the CAP both here and in Brussels. I welcome the Taoiseach's recent speech on that issue.

The domestic considerations of Mr. Blair, Chancellor Brown and the broader British political establishment should not result in the dismantlement of the CAP. It has stood the test of time and achieved what it was set up to do in the Treaty of Rome. It has guaranteed the production and supply of top quality food for the benefit of the consumers of Europe, not just the agricultural community. We must defend this vital component of the economy. I encourage the Taoiseach to keep up his efforts to ensure that the CAP will stay in place until 2013 and that the British efforts to dismantle it will be resisted in full.