Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad and thank him for his very interesting presentation on the Lisbon treaty. He came to the House on the same day as the President of the European Parliament who addressed us here and touched on the Lisbon treaty in his presentation, which we were fortunate to hear.

I welcome that the President of the European Parliament addressed the Upper House today. This trend should be encouraged. National parliaments and Ministers representing us should make the institutions of the European Union aware that it is very positive that we can put a human face on the institutions of the European Union and that national parliaments, particularly upper houses, can play an important role in terms of facilitating visits by the President of the European Parliament, other parliamentarians and commissioners when directives are being prepared so that there is an opportunity to counter the sense of disconnect between what is happening at national level and what is happening in Brussels or at European level. It is to be hoped today's visit was a very welcome start to that process.

I will touch on the European Parliament's role in respect of the Lisbon treaty. Obviously, the treaty will greatly strengthen the powers of the European Parliament, which is a very welcome development. By strengthening the powers of the European Parliament and significantly increasing its co-decision making powers it will reduce the influence of executive power within the European Union. It seems that, to date, the power wielded by both the European Commission and the Council of Ministers could be described as executive power. While the Council of Ministers is made up of representatives of governments, the power it uses is a form of executive power. The strengthening of the European Parliament and its co-decision making powers strengthens the overall democratic legitimacy of the European Union and for that reason it is to be welcomed.

The one concern that has been expressed to me as a member of the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs by groups that have come to the committee is whether the co-decision making process will slow down decision making in the European Union. I would like to hear the Minister of State's view on that.

It is a very positive development that under the terms of the Lisbon treaty, the European Parliament will have the power to elect the President of the Commission. It will not just have the power of assent but will have the power to elect or refuse the nomination of the European Council in respect of the President of the Commission. This will mean that the largest grouping in the European Parliament will have a very important say in future legislation because, as we know, the Commission has the powers of legislative initiative at a European level. If the socialist group is the largest party in the European Parliament, we are likely to see a socialist-inclined President of the European Commission which could have a significant impact on the type of legislation we could expect to see proposed by the Commission. It is an important new power for the European Parliament and should concentrate the minds of the European electorate on the fact that the people they elect to the European Parliament in June 2009 will have an important say in the composition of the Commission and, therefore, the overall legislative output of the European Union.

The one issue about the treaty that concerns me is the fact that in terms of improving and strengthening the powers of the European Parliament, it does not add significantly to its decision-making role in terms of trade policy. The issue of trade policy has been an area of concern for many development organisations and others who see much secrecy and a lack of transparency surrounding the way in which trade policy is decided at a European level. The US Houses of Congress have much greater powers than the European Parliament has had to date in respect of formulating and deciding trade policy. Unfortunately, the Lisbon treaty only gives the European Parliament powers of assent rather than significant decision-making powers. Could the Minister of State comment on this?

In respect of the representation we will have on the European Commission, the equality of rotation seems to be the important principle. The larger member states have accepted that. What will be important in the future is that the cabinet of the various Commissioners will include a representative number of Irish officials along with officials from all the other member states. If member states feel that they are represented at an official level within the Commission that can adequately reflect the perspectives and interests of that particular member state, the fact that there might not be a Commissioner representing each member state will not be such a significant issue.

Another feature of the Lisbon treaty worth highlighting is the fact that it strengthens and makes more meaningful the concept of European citizenship both through the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which strengthens and gives a legal basis to citizens' rights across the European Union, and the introduction of the citizens' initiative which gives citizens a say in the kind of legislation they would like to see. It is possibly not as strong as some citizens would like it to be but it gives them the power to petition the European Commission to introduce new legislation.

The Lisbon treaty also strengthens the EU's external coherence which, again, must be a good thing because it will strengthen the European Union's influence globally. When we look at issues such as climate change, energy security and migration which are all underpinned by the values so clearly expressed in the Lisbon treaty, especially in its early stages, the strengthening of the EU's external coherence certainly is important.

The Minister of State and the President of the European Parliament spoke today about the values of the European Union, the fact that we are a community of values and the importance of European values and promoting them at a global level. It is important that as well as seeing the positive elements in terms of what the European Union represents, we are able to accept criticism. There is a danger that if the European Union becomes unable to listen to the critical voices that perhaps are pointing to some aspects of its functioning that are less than perfect at the moment, we will just listen to the positive aspects of the functioning of the European Union and there will be more and more unwillingness to look at some aspects of its functioning that may not be to the satisfaction of its citizens or particular interest groups within the European Union. It is important that in addition to being able to see and promote positive values, there is always the capacity to listen to critical voices, absorb and respond to that criticism and improve the areas of functioning of the European Union where necessary.

The Green Party is delighted that the campaign on the Lisbon treaty has kicked off. We would like to play our part in promoting the treaty to the people of Ireland and hopefully seeing a positive vote for it on 12 June 2008.