Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of France, Finland and Belgium at the recent EU-Latin America Meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6316/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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In the course of my recent visit to the EU Latin America Summit I had a number of bilateral meetings, two of which were with the Prime Ministers of France and Finland. Although a bilateral meeting had been scheduled, the Prime Minister of Belgium was detained in Brussels by urgent business. The focus of my discussions with Prime Ministers Ayrault and Katainen was primarily on the priority issues currently being addressed during the Irish Presidency of the European Union. The meetings offered the opportunity for me to update both Prime Ministers on Ireland’s domestic situation, in particular in relation to the EU-IMF Programme and bank debt.

In the context of issues which are to the fore of our efforts as Presidency, we concentrated in both meetings on progress on Banking Union, and in particular in that context on advancing agreement with the European Parliament on the Single Supervisory Mechanism. It was agreed in each discussion that this was a very important first step in meeting the mandate of the European Council on Banking Union. We also had an opportunity to have an exchange of views on the next steps including on Bank Resolution and Deposit Guarantees. This discussion was in the context of bringing stability to the Eurozone through early delivery of the political commitments made by Heads of State and Government.

On the MFF, the importance of the work underway amongst Member States and in discussions with the institutions was also a focal point in these bilateral exchanges. Both Prime Ministers Ayrault and Katainen agreed that it would be extremely important to find a basis on which the European Council could agree at its forthcoming meeting and I briefed them on the informal consultations already underway with the European Parliament.

On the matter of jobs and growth, we discussed the potential for progress on a series of single market measures, including the digital single market, public procurement and professional qualifications. The issue of youth unemployment was emphasised as a key priority for the EU as a whole and in that context it was agreed that special effort should be made to reach agreement on the Youth Guarantee. The important contribution which trade agreements with key strategic partners can make to the growth agenda received our full attention and in both meetings the prospects for agreement on a mandate on EU-US Trade, and completion of the EU-Canada agreement were discussed.

Finally, I was happy to inform the Prime Ministers of Ireland’s ongoing achievements in fulfilling the terms of 8 Troika Reviews of our EU-IMF Programme, which incorporate more than 190 actions, fully signed up to and fully delivered. Both Prime Ministers were generous in their praise of Ireland’s delivery on its Programme and welcomed the update in terms of the positive news in terms of our exports and growth prospects. However, I underlined a major concern which remains in terms of the unacceptably high level of unemployment in Ireland, particularly amongst young people. Both Prime Ministers expressed political support for Ireland’s ongoing negotiation with the ECB in an effort to resolve the issue of the Promissory Notes. While the negotiations with the ECB remain confidential, I assured the Prime Ministers that the Government was approaching the negotiations in a solution-oriented manner, but that time was not on our side and that we urgently need to resolve the issue in advance of 31 March when the next payment becomes due.