Peter Barry
Question:5 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland will be submitting sets of proposals to the Inter-governmental Conference on European Political Union and on European Monetary Union.
Written Answers. - European Political and Monetary Union.
John Bruton
Question:39 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he favours the establishment of European Political Union; and if he will outline his understanding of this term.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 39 together.
The European Council meeting in Dublin on 28 April 1990 confirmed its commitment to political union and decided that a detailed examination would be put in hand by the Foreign Ministers on the need for possible treaty amendments with the aim of strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the union, enabling the Community and its Institutions to respond efficiently and effectively to the demands of the new situation and assuring unity and coherence in the Community's international action.
The decision to call the Inter-governmental Conference on Political Union was taken at the European Council in Dublin on 25-26 June 1990. The Intergovernmental Conference will adopt its own agenda and conclude its work rapidly with the objective of ratification by member states before the end of 1992.
The conclusions of the European Council meeting in Rome on 27-28 October, which were approved by Ireland, state that:
The European Council confirmed the will progressively to transform the Community into a European Union by developing its political dimension, strengthening its capacity for action and extending its powers to other supplementary sectors of economic integration which are essential for convergence and social cohesion. European Union will be the culmination of a progressive process agreed by common accord among the member states; it will evolve with due regard being paid to national identities and to the principle of subsidiarity, which will allow a distinction to be made between matters which fall within the union's jurisdiction and those which must remain within the national jurisdiction.
Since then the preparatory work has been continuing at an intensive pace. The General Affairs Council on Tuesday last (4 December) decided to forward to the European Council a report covering the four areas that will be considered by the Intergovernmental Conference on Political Union. These are the scope of political union, democratic legitimacy, efficiency and effectiveness of the institutions and common foreign and security policy. Ireland has participated fully in the preparatory stages of the conference and we have made our views clear on issues of particular importance to us.
We have now come to the end of the preparatory phase. I do not wish to anticipate the negotiations that will take place at the Intergovernmental Conference on Political Union or the Conference on Economic and Monetary Union which will open on 15 December. However, we may wish to make proposals on specific issues or join with other member states or the Commission in putting forward proposals during the conferences.
I would recall that the principles on which Ireland's approach to the Inter-governmental Conferences is based have already been spelled out by the Taoiseach in his statement to the Dáil on 1 November which also outlines the main issues under consideration. The principles are:
First, that the development of political integration should be based on a growing community of interests in the economic and social field. Progress in the latter area which is after all the main focus of the Treaty of Rome's objective to eliminate the barriers dividing Europe, will shape the pace of developments in the former. In short, progress is the economic and social fields must be the basis on which progress in the area of political union is made.
Second, the Community has proved its political role as a unifying force in Europe, based on its democratic values, success in improving the living and working standards of its peoples, its commitment to international peace and prosperity and its openness to the rest of Europe and the wider world. Nothing in the current exercise should diminish the constructive and flexible character of this role.
Third, the two IGCs on political union and on economic and monetary union should mark a significant and coherent advance in the internal efficacy and deepening of the Community and the ability of the Community and its member states to work more closely and constructively with other countries of Europe and internationally.
Fourth, the development of the Treaty to cover new areas of policy must proceed on the basis of the existing obligation of the Community and the member states under the Treaty to strengthen the Community's economic and social cohesion and, in particular, to reduce regional disparities and the backwardness of the least-favoured regions. With this goal in mind it would be unreal to consider extending the scope of Treaty competences without addressing the scale of financial resources required to meet the new objectives and to implement new common policies.