Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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159. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which particular emphasis is placed on efforts within the European Union to address the issue of euroscepticism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9001/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Euroscepticism is not new, but in recent years it has become stronger and more vocal, and has manifested itself in the rise of extreme right wing movements and in the UK’s decision to leave the Union. In the wake of the Brexit vote, EU leaders met in Bratislava last September. In the Bratislava Declaration they acknowledged the need to improve communications among Member States, with EU institutions, “but most importantly with our citizens”. They agreed on the need to inject more clarity into decisions; use clear and honest language and to focus on citizens’ expectations. EU leaders will gather in Rome next month to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. They are expected to acknowledge the reality of eurosceptism, and the need to address it, including as set out in the Bratislava Declaration. They are also likely to display a strong unity of purpose; to assert that the Continent’s future peace and prosperity is best preserved and promoted through the European Union, and that the European Union, as a community of values, founded on the Rule of Law, democracy and human rights, is and will remain a bastion of these values in the world.