Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to a statement made by the UN's Deputy Secretary General to the effect that he believes the European Commission will in future represent the EU in the United Nations as the voice of the European block worldwide; and if he will give a commitment to resist such effort to diminish this State's right to its own independent voice in international affairs and in the UN. [34513/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that Mr. Mark Malloch Brown, the UN Deputy-Secretary-General, during a recent visit to Brussels reportedly expressed the view that the European Commission might in future represent the EU in the UN General Assembly. I understand that he said this in response to a question and the exact scope of his comment is not clear. I would be surprised if the interpretation advanced by the Deputy were accurate. In any event I am sure that Mr. Malloch Brown's intention was to stimulate debate. As I know from my own dealings with him, including in November 2005, when he made a thought-provoking address to a Seminar organised by my Department with the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of Ireland's UN membership, Mr. Malloch Brown is very ready to speculate creatively about long-term issues.

To give effect to any such role for the Commission would require major changes in the institutional architecture of both the UN and the EU. I do not believe that such changes are likely.

Article 4 of the UN Charter provides that UN membership is open only to States. All EU Member States are also UN members. The Commission, in common with representatives of other regional organisations, has observer status. The Commission can speak at UN meetings within its competencies, normally in the trade and development cooperation areas.

The question of EU representation at the UN, in particular in the Security Council, was most recently discussed in the context of negotiations on the EU's Constitutional Treaty. However there was no agreement to go beyond the arrangements set out in Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union, which provides that Member States shall coordinate their action in international organisations and at international conferences and shall uphold the common positions in such forums. Even if there had been agreement to go further, I cannot imagine the Member States collectively ceding their role in foreign policy to the Commission. The current position is that the Presidency speaks on behalf of the EU at UN meetings where the Member States agree and there is a united EU position. Ireland and other Member States contribute to the drafting of such statements. This allows the European Union to project our common interests and values forcefully at the UN. However it is not always possible or appropriate to have common EU statements and on such occasions Ireland and other Member States address UN meetings and conferences in their national capacity. At the General Debate in the General Assembly individual Member States speak — as I did on behalf of Ireland last month — but there is also a Presidency statement.

The UN occupies a central place in our foreign policy. I could not envisage a situation whereby an Irish Government would forego its right to have its representatives speak at UN meetings, either to the EU Commission or to any other body, but I would be very surprised if this were ever seriously proposed.

As regards the Security Council, there is no serious prospect of agreement on a single EU seat. I cannot envisage either the UK or France agreeing to abandon their status as Permanent Members. Moreover, at present three other EU Members are present on the Council as non-permanent members — Denmark, Greece and Slovakia — and the multiplicity of voices reinforces the overall impact of the European perspective.