Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

At the outset, I welcome the Polish Ambassador, Mr. Marcin Nawrot, the Minister of State, Deputy Lucinda Creighton, Mr. Pat the Cope Gallagher, MEP, Mr. Gay Mitchell, MEP, and the former President of the European Parliament, Mr. Pat Cox. On my behalf and that of my fellow Senators, I welcome to the House His Excellency, Mr. Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament. No Member of this House needs reminding that we are at a crucial time in the history of the European Union. Ireland and the EU face many issues and challenges. President Buzek, you are an example of how we can all meet and surmount the challenges we encounter and a measure of how Europe can change for the better.

In 1980, President Buzek joined the Solidarity movement in Poland, was appointed chair of the works committee and became an increasingly important member of that movement. Following Solidarity's triumph in 1989, he became a full-time academic. He once stated his ambition was to become a member of parliament in a free Poland but he achieved more than that. He became Poland's Prime Minister in 1997, undertook ambitious reforms and helped to negotiate Poland's accession to the EU. In 2004, he was elected to the European Parliament with the largest majority in Poland and was elected President of the European Parliament in 2009, having won the largest majority of any President since the first direct elections in 1979. He is the first President of the European Parliament to come from central and eastern Europe on foot of the European Union's enlargement in 2004. Throughout his career, he has shown great passion for and dedication to the democratic ideals we should never take for granted. His journey, both personally and politically, should serve as an inspiration to all who believe that parliamentary democracy can achieve real change for the benefit of ordinary people and is a symbol of unity in a shared Europe. President Buzek's presence here underlines the close relationships between our Parliament and the European Parliament within the framework of European Union interparliamentary co-operation. His visit is also particularly timely, given the enhanced role of national parliaments under the Lisbon treaty. It now gives me great pleasure to invite him to address Seanad Éireann.