Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the House on preparations for Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. I will also update Members on the outcome of last week's European Council meeting.

With 67 days left until 1 January, work is intensifying at all levels. We are now also getting a much clearer sense of the issues on the agenda of the Council in the first half of next year which we can aim to advance. At the beginning of the month members of the Government travelled to Brussels for discussions with the College of Commissioners on our Presidency. We were pleased with the outcome of the meeting which confirmed there is broad agreement between the Government and the European Commission on the main priorities and objectives we have identified.

The Taoiseach also had the opportunity while in Brussels to meet the President of the European Council, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy. The President of the European Parliament, Mr. Martin Schulz, MEP, also visited Dublin at the beginning of this month for discussions with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and was invited to address the Dáil.

I have just returned from my latest visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and discussed the main issues that are now emerging as priorities in the Irish Presidency programme. I also discussed the particularly intensive period of engagement with the European Parliament in the coming weeks which I know will involve Members of this House. Between now and the end of the year, delegates from five committees from the European Parliament will visit Dublin as well as the three main political groups in the Parliament. At the end of November the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Martin Schulz, MEP, will return to Dublin with the Conference of Presidents, that is the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament. I very much welcome this engagement by the European Parliament in advance of the Presidency and I particularly welcome the involvement of the Oireachtas in this process.

It is vital, as the European Union takes steps towards closer integration in response to the crisis, that the European Parliament and national parliaments play their respective roles in ensuring democratic accountability for our actions.

Work is continuing on the development of the Irish Presidency programme, which will be published at the end of this year. This is informed by the discussions that have been taking place at political level. It will also take into account the Commission's work plan for 2013, which was adopted on Tuesday. At the same time, the Permanent Representation in Brussels will also draw up, with the Commission and the Council Secretariat, the agendas of the Council meetings that will be held during the first half of next year and which will structure debate at Council during our Presidency.

I am pleased to update the Seanad on work that has been under way on the Presidency since I last addressed this House in May. I will first highlight some of the main priorities that now look set to dominate Ireland's Presidency programme. The main overarching focus of the Presidency, across all policy formations, will be identifying and advancing legislation that can contribute to creating the conditions for sustainable economic growth in Europe and job creation. The agreement at the June European Council on a compact for jobs and growth was important. We will now work closely with our EU partners to make this commitment a concrete reality. We have identified policy and legislative issues across several Council formations that we consider can contribute to longer-term growth and job creation. Many of these issues are linked to the Single Market, which has delivered so many benefits and opportunities for our export sector and consumers in the past 20 years.

Ireland will seek to make progress on draft legislation outstanding under the current Single Market Act, including the professional qualifications directive. We also want to ensure that business and consumers reap the benefits of an evolving Single Market and e-commerce. The Single Market Act II was published on 3 October by the European Commission and Ireland strongly supports the focus in the Act on making progress in areas such as integrated energy, transport networks and the digital economy.

During our Presidency we will also seek to spur growth in the digital economy and the digital Single Market by working to advance agreement on key issues, including intellectual property rights, cyber security, e-identification, data protection and high-speed broadband roll-out. In a rapidly changing global economy, we also need to ensure that Ireland and the EU are equipped to play a full role in the research, development and innovation sectors. For this reason, we are placing a strong emphasis on advancing the Horizon 2020 framework funding programme which can play an important role in supporting research and innovation across the EU and creating smart jobs and sustainable growth. Completion of the European Research Area, ERA, and the future development of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology will also be priorities for the Irish Presidency given their potential for job creation and sharpening the Union's competitiveness.

Senators will be aware of the value that the Government attaches to new markets for Irish exporters. In addition, to the work prioritised in the internal Single Market, Ireland also plans to place a strong emphasis on the external trade agenda. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, will host a ministerial meeting in Dublin next April which will focus on strengthening EU-US trade relations. The Presidency will also work on progressing free trade agreement negotiations with other strategic partners, including Japan and India.

Ireland, as Presidency, will also work to strengthen the EU economy in the coming decades by making progress on the entrepreneurship action plan. To support the next generation of entrepreneurs and to better serve citizens, Europe also needs to invest strategically in its infrastructure to support economic development and maintain its global competitiveness. The Presidency will prioritise work on the connecting Europe facility to underpin development in the Union's transport, telecoms and energy infrastructures.

As Presidency, Ireland will also work to promote greater equality, social cohesion and inclusion in Europe. Elements of the Europe 2020 Strategy, including improving training, skills and access to education, will play a critical role in equipping citizens, particularly young people, to find work and in attracting investment into the EU. The issue of skills is central to fighting unemployment and willbe a focus at the February education Council in the context of discussions on the European Semester and Europe 2020. Following the publication of the youth transitions package, the Presidency will focus on youth employment and mobility at the February Council, and at an EPSCO informal ministerial chaired by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, in February with a view to agreeing a Council recommendation on a youth guarantee. Time does not permit me to go into detail today on all of the dossiers that we are planning to advance to fight the crisis, to reinvigorate Europe's economy and to create jobs. However, four years into the crisis, our citizens demand and deserve action. For this reason, jobs and growth will remain our central focus.

To underpin Europe's economic recovery and to ensure coherence in the Union's policies, agreement needs to be reached on the EU budget from 2014 to 2020. Many of the issues that I have outlined above are dependent on the budget, including issues of critical national importance to Ireland such as Horizon 2020, CAP and CFP reform. Securing agreement on the EU's future financing is a key priority for the current Cyprus Presidency. Ireland stands ready to assume whatever tasks remain at the start of its Presidency, including making progress on the approximately 70 pieces of implementing legislation related to the MFF.
With regard to last week's European Council, I accompanied the Taoiseach to the summit meeting in Brussels on 18 and 19 October. European leaders had a number of substantive issues on their agenda last Thursday and Friday, including in the economic sphere, a reflection on the possible future shape of Economic and Monetary Union, which underpins our shared currency, and taking stock of implementation of the compact for growth and jobs. Beyond those economic issues, Heads of State and Government also had a good exchange on our relationship with the Union's strategic partners, most notably with China, and they adopted a comprehensive set of conclusions on the developing situations in Syria, Iran and Mali.

The central focus of deliberations last week was on the means of strengthening Economic and Monetary Union and most particularly on progressing towards so-called banking union. The framework for these discussions was provided by President Van Rompuy's interim report, Towards a Genuine Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which he presented to leaders. The report was well received and leaders agreed a comprehensive set of conclusions based on the four essential building blocks necessary for a strengthened EMU, which President Van Rompuy identified previously. These are an integrated financial framework or so-called banking union; an integrated budgetary framework; an integrated economic policy framework; and, critically, democratic legitimacy and accountability. It was agreed that President Van Rompuy will continue his consultations with member states and others before bringing forward his final report to the December European Council. That report will set out a specific and time-bound roadmap for strengthening EMU, including recommendations for concrete steps to be taken.

Last week, leaders reaffirmed their commitment in June to break the vicious circle between banking and sovereign debt. Heads of State and Government also clearly reaffirmed the commitment to provide for the recapitalisation of euro area banks by the European Stability Mechanism, ESM. With regard to the single supervisory mechanism, which is a critical step in the creation of a banking union, leaders have now agreed a clear timeframe for its entry into operation as a matter of priority, with its legislative framework concluded by the end of this year and work on the operational implementation of the single supervisor to happen during the course of 2013. The European Council has also tasked the Eurogroup of Finance Ministers, including the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, to draw up the exact operational criteria that will guide direct bank recapitalisation by the ESM in full respect of the June decisions. This, too, is a positive outcome from our perspective.

As the House will be aware, in the aftermath of last week's meeting, the Taoiseach had a telephone conversation with Chancellor Merkel on Sunday afternoon last and that on foot of that discussion a joint communique was issued by the two leaders. Chancellor Merkel expressed a genuine appreciation of the steps the Irish people are taking to turn our economic situation around and her full support for our efforts to get back to the markets. The joint statement makes it clear that the commitments made to Ireland at the end of June stand and that the vital work involved in examining the situation of the Irish financial sector will be taken forward by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan and his colleagues in the Eurogroup of Finance Ministers, with a view to further improving the sustainability of our programme. Chancellor Merkel also acknowledged that Ireland's case is a special one and that this would be taken into account during the discussions ahead.

Significantly, President Hollande of France added his voice, when the Taoiseach met him in Paris, in appreciating the special situation which Ireland faces and in acknowledging that these circumstances will need to be taken into account as the Eurogroup now takes this work forward.

These statements are a most welcome reaffirmation by key European leaders that the 29 June agreement to address Ireland's situation will be honoured. I reassure the House that the Government will continue to work painstakingly to secure the best possible deal for the people of Ireland. We have had considerable success and I am confident our approach will lead to a positive outcome. This work will be detailed and technical and may take some time, but the Government has always said it is better to get the best possible deal rather than a quick deal.

Before concluding on last week's European Council meeting, I should note that leaders also adopted a comprehensive set of conclusions on the implementation of various aspects of the compact for growth and jobs. This was a most welcome return by the Heads of State and Government to assessing implementation of the compact which they adopted as recently as June last. While progress has been made in beginning to implement the various elements of the compact, what is evident is that more needs to be done. Just as in the case of EMU and the banking union, implementation is key. Taking forward the various aspects of the compact at EU level, such as the Single Market, youth unemployment or expanding opportunities for external trade, will form an important aspect of our work in the Presidency next year.

Related to the ongoing work at European Council level, a final key overriding priority for the Irish Presidency will be to ensure stability and restore trust in the euro area for business, investors and consumers. For this reason, Ireland will work to ensure the effective implementation of governance measures through the EU's new system of economic and budgetary co-ordination. Trust also needs to be restored urgently in other sectors that are critical to the functioning of a modern economy, and this is why we are placing an emphasis on making progress on the banking union proposals.

I will outline some of the other fundamentals that will guide the Irish Presidency in 2013. We are committed to maintaining the reputation earned in our six previous Presidencies for acting as a fair and impartial officeholder. We believe the EU is at its most effective when its members move forward together to deliver results for all Europe's citizens. Also, as I stressed to the House last May, the Government is committed to delivering a very cost-effective Presidency.

The Presidency is a massive task for any administration, but especially for a smaller state like Ireland. Since I last spoke to the House in May, I have met many of my counterparts from the European Parliament, other member states and the Oireachtas. I have also met and briefed non-governmental organisations and civil society on our Presidency and have worked to factor their views and concerns into our Presidency programme. Next year, 2013, is the European year of citizens and one of my aims during the Presidency will be to promote much stronger levels of direct public discussion and engagement in EU affairs. Ireland has had a very interesting journey during its first 40 years of EU membership. The Presidency will demonstrate once again the positive role Ireland can play in Europe. It can also serve as a useful point of public discussion on how we envisage Ireland's role in an enlarged Union.

I thank the Senators for inviting me to speak here again and for their views and the contributions they will now make on the Presidency programme.