Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Mitchell, MEP. People have referred to his late brother, who made a practical contribution to greater contacts between Europeans. I remember when it used to cost £650 to fly from Dublin to Brussels. He played a major part in opening up that market with his friend in the Commission, Peter Sutherland, against Civil Service advice. That was a real tester of bringing Europeans together. I endorse everything Mr. Mitchell has said about the harmony and friendship that has been generated by the European Union and the benefits of free trade. They have all been great success stories.

Where I might diverge with Mr. Mitchell, however, is on the issue of the euro. It seems to me to have been a remarkably badly designed currency that has resulted in mass unemployment in countries such as Greece, Spain and so on. Our problem was that we sleep-walked into it. There should be a duty to examine policies which might seem like a good idea at the centre but which do not work at the periphery.

While I appreciate all the good things to which Mr. Mitchell has referred, there is a crisis, part of which was illustrated by Mr. Cameron's speech yesterday. By the way, I hope people will read the speech. It is far easier in today's media to get comments about the speech rather than read what he actually said, which is far more important. Perhaps we could debate what he actually said rather than what commentators thought about it.

We have problems due to the lack of bank regulation and we should have seen them 15 years ago. There is a problem with the lack of an exit mechanism. I cannot see Greece recovering under the present arrangements and that issue will have to be addressed. The loss of exchange rates and interest rates as instruments of economic policy is a problem. Our labour mobility does not go to Germany but rather Australia, Canada and so on. It was our own fault for sleepwalking into this. We should have played a greater part in designing a better common currency to what emerged. We must address the unemployment problem.

What do people look for in Europe? More humility, less bureaucracy, less jargon, more accountability, less sleepwalking into badly thought out policies and more respect for parliament. Following what Mr. Cameron said yesterday there was a headline to the effect that he cannot have à la carte meals. Is the alternative to à la carte meals to be force fed? There is a legitimate issue for us to discuss in this regard. All layers of government including this House, which may face a referendum, should justify themselves.

There is a lack of confidence in Europe. Pro-market employment rules have been referred to and we need more of them. France in particular is always more interested in employment legislation for those who already have jobs but it is indifferent to the mass unemployment which Mr. Mitchell and the other Members of the European Parliament have addressed.

The principle of subsidiarity is another issue. There may be items that should be returned to member state governments. I used to hear Mr. Delors talking about this but I do not think he ever gave any powers back to the nation states. Are there functions of government that are better carried out by nation states? Why is the traffic in this area all one-way?

Mr. Mitchell has written about the problem of bureaucracy. People find the Brussels bureaucracy annoying and intimidating. I welcome Mr. Mitchell's analysis of Schiller. There was a reference to Wall Street versus main street. Main street is suffering while we have been cowed by the financial markets that Mr. Mitchell described in his fine account.
We must address several questions for the future. We must investigate how much unemployment is due to the fixed exchange rates regime. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, referred to feta cheese recently. Some in the media thought it was a joke but how can Greece recover at a fixed exchange rate vis-à-vis Germany? The democratic deficit must be addressed as well. That is a serious problem which citizens hold strong views on, as is the principle of subsidiarity.

I hope Mr. Mitchell will refer to the unemployment problem, the democratic deficit in Europe and the powers that should properly reside with the nation states.