Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his attendance at the June 2006 EU Council meeting, in particular on developments with the EU Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25212/06]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent attendance at the European Council meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25127/06]

Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent attendance at the June 2006 European Council meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25144/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to answer Questions Nos. 46, 62 and 102 together.

I attended the European Council on 15/16th June in place of the Taoiseach. The Taoiseach reported to the Dáil on the outcome of the Council on Wednesday 21st June.

The June European Council dealt with a wide range of issues, but its main focus was on the European Constitution. The Council had an extended discussion concerning the fate of the Constitution and the related issue of the Union's future enlargement agenda. There was agreement that more time and further work are needed before firm decisions can be taken on the Constitution.

The European Council did, however, chart the road ahead with regard to the European Constitution. The European Council Conclusions envisage extensive consultations with Member States culminating in a Presidency report in the first half of 2007. It is intended that this report should provide the European Council with the basis for further decisions concerning the European Constitution.

At the same time, the European Council reaffirmed the importance of delivering for the citizen and of pressing ahead with the Union's challenging agenda. That agenda includes the fight against crime and terrorism, dealing with the challenges of energy and climate change and promoting economic growth and job creation under the revitalised Lisbon Agenda.

The European Council supported work already underway to ensure that EU citizens can avail of the consular services of all the Member States around the world. In an important development, the Council agreed to make the way it conducts its business more transparently by doing more of its work in public session. It also welcomed the Commission's recent initiative to improve communication with National Parliaments in relation to legislative and other proposals.

The Council agreed that Slovenia would adopt the euro in January 2007, and commended Lithuania for its progress towards meeting the criteria for membership of the euro group. Slovenia's adoption of the euro is an important illustration of the success of the Union's 5th enlargement.

On enlargement, the Council reaffirmed the Union's intention to honour its existing commitments while, at the same time, ensuring the Union's capacity to continue to function effectively as it enlarges. There is to be a further, in-depth discussion of enlargement at next December's European Council. On the external relations side, the European Council adopted Declarations on the Western Balkans, Iran, Iraq, the Middle East Peace Process, Africa, Lebanon and Timor Leste.

On the Middle East Peace Process, it endorsed the proposed Temporary International Mechanism to channel assistance directly to the Palestinian people, which has been drawn up by the European Commission. The European Community stands ready to contribute a substantial amount to the international mechanism. The European Council urged Iran to give an early positive response to the far-reaching initiative proposed by the EU High Representative, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and the UK, China, the Russian Federation and the United States.