Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the March 2006 European summit; the decisions which were taken at this summit; the contributions made by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13115/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I participated at the European Council in Brussels on 23 and 24 March 2006, at which the Irish delegation was led by the Taoiseach. The conclusions of the Council have been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and Dáil Éireann had an opportunity to discuss the meeting's outcome on 29 March.

The Council's discussions covered matters across the Union's broad economic and social agenda. In particular, the Council endorsed the idea of a new energy policy for Europe, an initiative Ireland wholeheartedly supported. I should emphasise also that the conclusions make it explicitly clear that decisions on the primary sources of energy, and the choice of energy mix, will remain the responsibility of member states.

On state aids, we secured the inclusion of a text which reflects our long-standing view that the EU's rules in this area need to take external factors into account so as to enable Europe to compete successfully for future inward investment. The Taoiseach also won support for his proposal that the EU should look at ways of reducing mobile phone roaming charges for travellers within the Union.

At Foreign Minister level, the particular focus of our discussions was on the future of Europe and on enlargement. In this regard, I took the opportunity to underline our continuing and firm commitment to the EU constitution.

With regard to future enlargement, I said that we would continue to adopt a constructive and pragmatic approach, while giving due weight to the Union's absorption capacity and the need for future candidates to be able to meet fully the obligations of membership. While the Presidency did not seek to arrive at any conclusions on these topics, our discussion was a useful contribution to the current "period of reflection", which is to be reviewed by the Heads of State and Government when they next meet in June.

I raised the recent ETA ceasefire, and complimented the Spanish Government on its facilitation of this breakthrough. I indicated our willingness to assist the Spanish Government based on our own peace process experience and, in this context, the Taoiseach invited Prime Minister Zapatero to visit Ireland at an early opportunity.

I also referred to the question of Guantanamo Bay, and was one of a number of Ministers who exhorted the Presidency to issue a statement expressing the EU's concerns about the continued operation of the facility and urging its closure.