Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House, and the Bill he brings for our approval. In summary, the Minister of State said that the greatest evidence for this Bill is that to date the enlargement of the European Union has been a win-win situation, for the countries joining the Union and for those such as Ireland which are already members. The move to allow Bulgaria and Romania in is a positive step forward which will benefit every citizen of Europe.

The Minister of State said that we tend to forget what Ireland and Europe were like in 1973 when Ireland joined the then European Economic Community. When I joined this House in 1987, Europe was very different from what it is now. Bulgaria and Romania were tightly sealed satellite states of the old Soviet Union. Bulgaria was one of the more cold and frightening members of the Soviet bloc, which we associated with KGB espionage, double agents and infiltration of Western countries. Romania was a somewhat freer country within the old Soviet bloc but had no democratic structures and was beholden to Moscow. It appeared to have very little future to offer its citizens. That changed in the autumn and winter of 1989. One of the great television images of that time was the upheaval in Romania, the overthrow of the Communist Party dictatorship there, and the brutal and swift end meted out to those leaders.

We must look to the future. Every citizen of Bulgaria and Romania is eagerly looking forward to joining the larger European family because the European Union is the biggest political success story of the past 100 years. Only the integration of the United States can match the European Union's economic and political success. I look forward to these two extra countries joining the club and benefiting from the European project as we will benefit from their membership.

The Minister outlined certain issues that the Bulgarian and Romanian administrations need to address before being allowed to join the Union. There must be strict rules and guidelines for accession. No matter how strongly we wish them to join, the internal politics and economics in those countries must reach a certain standard before they can join. Their governments need to assure us that they will tackle the problems with certain criminal elements there domestically, and in conjunction with their future European partners. We need further evidence that democratic institutions have bedded down locally and nationally in those two countries which come from a tradition of centralised dictatorship where democracy cannot flower overnight. After 15 or 16 years of democratic progress in the old Soviet central and eastern Europe we must try to see that democratic structures are well established there.

We also need further reassurance that all impediments to market economies in Bulgaria and Romania are dealt with and that fully fledged market economies are in place. The market economy structure has been the linchpin of the political, economic and social development of the European Union of families. We must also ensure that the two countries will show the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union. No doubt they will aspire to and meet those criteria; the sooner the better.

The Minister of State is aware we have had numerous debates in this House over the past two or three years on the future enlargement policy of the European Union. A significant minority of people are concerned about the pace of enlargement and wonder where it will end. They wonder how far east we can go in building the EU. I hope we will continue to be ambitious and reach out to try to spread the politics of democracy, social inclusion and economic freedom that the Union is all about. I agree with the Minister of State that as the Union expands we must ensure the structures are in place to allow it to operate fully.

I acknowledge disappointment that the European constitution has not proceeded as we would have wished. Much work was done in the House and by the Government internationally to try and put the constitution in place. However, the referendum results in a number of countries appear to have put the "slow" sign on the project. We must recognise, however, that the European constitution has been ratified in a number of countries. In the majority of countries where a decision needed to be taken, a decision was taken in favour of it. I hope we continue to push forward the European project.

Are we still going through the famous period of reflection whereby we are supposed to reflect on where we are going and on how and when we will get there? It has been in place for some time and we need to mark progress and examine the current state of play. Too much has been invested in the concept of the new constitution for Europe to allow the issue stay on the backburner. If the two new countries are to join and there is to be further expansion, we need a newer type of political and administrative structure to run the show. The European constitution was charting the way forward in that regard and it is, therefore, important that we keep that issue at the core of our debate.

There was almost unanimous agreement in the House and broad political agreement in the country in favour of a European constitution. That support needs to be reiterated and we need to declare our ongoing desire for progress on the issue. The enlargement of the Union from 15 to 25 countries is not the end of the road as far as project Europe is concerned and nor should the enlargement from 25 to 27 be the end. The future of a number of other countries will be best secured through membership of the European Union.

The Minister of State spoke about a win-win situation. From the economic and political perspective, the bigger the club, the better we all succeed. The statistics on employment levels in the Minister of State's contribution knock on the head the argument made by some small-minded people that the flow of immigrant workers into Ireland is bad for the country. Nothing could be further from the truth. These people are part of the new Ireland. They are helping to build our economy and they contribute in various sectors and industries. Without them our economic growth would not be as strong.

The more we enlarge the European Union and the European economic club, the better for all of us and that is the reason I welcome this legislation. I hope that at the earliest possible date, Bulgaria and Romania will be deemed to have matched the necessary criteria. The criteria may be difficult, but that is as it should be. The two countries are moving in the right direction and offer a beacon of hope to other countries considering accession to the Union. I welcome the legislation and look forward to seeing Bulgaria and Romania as part of the Union. It is tremendous that countries that were under the cosh of the Soviet empire for so long and whose people could see no future for themselves can now move forward with us. They are moving towards a more open, democratic and fair society. I look forward to the day they join the Union. Their accession will be good for Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria and all of Europe.