Nora Owen
Question:1 Mrs. Owen asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to Helsinki. [10410/98]
Ceisteanna—Questions. - Ministerial Travel.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:2 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Finland and his meeting with the Finnish Prime Minister. [10508/98]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:3 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to Finland and Estonia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10519/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.
I visited Finland and Estonia on 26 and 27 April last and held discussions with Prime Minister Lipponen of Finland, President Meri, Prime Minister Siimann and Foreign Minister Ilves of Estonia.
My discussions with Prime Minister Lipponen centred on European Union issues including economic and monetary union, Agenda 2000, institutional reform and priorities for the forthcoming Finnish Presidency, including Finland's proposal for a northern dimension to the Union.
I took the opportunity to brief Prime Minister Lipponen on the Northern Ireland Agreement and I expressed my appreciation for the role played for former Prime Minister Holkeri at the talks process, and for Finland's continued support for the peace process.
I also met with the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Estonia in Tallinn. Estonia is among the first wave of applicant countries with which the EU recently commenced accession negotiations. My visit, the first by a Taoiseach, sought to strengthen bilateral economic, political and other relations with a future member state of the Union.
I expressed support for Estonian membership of the Union, complimented the Estonian leaders for their strong efforts to transform their economy and took the opportunity to outline Ireland's experience as a member of the European Union.
I too join the Taoiseach in paying tribute to Harri Holkeri, the former Prime Minister of Finland, who played an important role as one of the three chairpersons at the Northern Ireland talks. Given that the Finnish Prime Minister is on record as having said that he thinks the duty free sales issue will be reopened at European level, did the Taoiseach raise that issue with him and seek support for the Irish stand on reversing the decision that was taken in l991-92 to abolish duty free sales? If the Taoiseach did not raise the matter, why did he not do so?
The decision made in l991-92 related to getting a seven-year period during which to phase it out. I discussed it on this and on many other occasions. Mr. Holkeri supports our stand, but many others do not. It will be on the agenda for the next ECOFIN meeting. I will raise it also with my European colleagues, probably by letter.
Will it be on the agenda for the ECOFIN meeting as a result of the Irish initiative or do we have the support of other Ministers whose names will also be attached to any motion put down at the ECOFIN meeting?
I am not sure who has it on their agenda, but a growing number of countries are supportive and are changing their position on it. It is too early to say whether that is enough to change the position. However, from a position where there was very little interest six months ago, the argument is gaining momentum. There is still a huge amount of work to do. I know from commercial organisations within the country and from correspondence from organisations outside the country that they are actively engaged in lobbying their politicians to try to have the matter redressed. I have not seen any significant indication from the Commission of a change of mind.
Is the Taoiseach in a position to say whether the item is listed for discussion at the next ECOFIN meeting which takes place on Monday week? We are talking about a study on the employment impact of the abolition of duty free sales.
I have been told it will be back on the agenda of the ECOFIN Council and will be addressed by it. I am not familiar with the agenda for the next meeting — I am sure it is not yet available.
Did the Prime Minister of Finland, Paavo Lipponen, raise the question of Ireland's support for the candidacy of the governor of the Central Bank of Finland for one of the executive director positions of the European Central Bank in the course of discussions with the Taoiseach? If so, did the Taoiseach respond and is there any understanding that at some stage in the future Finland might reciprocate such support, as the governor of Finland's Central Bank is the only representative of a small country on the executive directorship of the European Central Bank?
I discussed that matter at some length. The Deputy knows the quality of the Finnish candidate from previous experience which was recalled. We addressed this issue at the meeting and I strongly supported the Finnish candidate.
What did you get in return?
The Deputy knows a decision has been made that it will be a rotational position. It is important that the smaller countries, including Finland and Ireland, work together. We did not have a suitable candidate to put forward. Whatever about the arguments of last weekend, for future reference it would seem that candidates will have to be either Secretary General of the Department of Finance or governor of the Central Bank. If we do not put forward people at this level we will not be in the game. This is what happened others last week. We must look to the longer term, perhaps seven or eight years, when the rotational system will lead to support. I hope I have that understanding with Finland and perhaps a few other countries.
Did the Taoiseach discuss with the Finnish Prime Minister how small countries such as Ireland and Finland could deal with economic upheavals which may arise in future, given that we are now part of EMU and the mechanism of adjusting exchange rates is no longer available? Did he discuss Finland's novel introduction of a buffer fund, namely, the use of various funds to ensure the state can deal with problems of unemployment or shocks to companies which may experience trouble? This fund was agreed by the social partners in Finland in late 1997.
I did not discuss that scheme. However, we talked about how things will pan out over the coming years. Finland has quite high levels of unemployment. Before the 1989 changes in Eastern Europe the unemployment rate was 2 per cent or 3 per cent. This increased to double digit figures and an attempt is being made to reduce it again. Both countries see the opportunities, including opportunities for exporters, of an enlarged community. The big political issue which is concentrating the minds of politicians and the media is Finland's first presidency, which is a year away. This is seen as very important to Finland. Finland's proposal concerning a northern dimension to the EU is aimed at enhancing regional political and economic co-operation among all states in the Baltic, including Russia. It believes this would bring stability to the area in the long term and assist smaller countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and build up its economy for the future. The Finns have put great effort into this. They accept there will be problems and that the disciplines will be fairly severe, but they are also aware of the opportunities that exist.
I accept what the Taoiseach has said. I am not making a case against EMU, I am merely making the point that in market driven economies there inevitably will be a downturn at some point and this country and others will hit heavy weather at some stage in the future. Will the Taoiseach examine the initiative the Finns have taken by putting in place a counter cyclical mechanism which would assist countries like Ireland to overcome difficulties. There is no mechanism in place at European level to help us to do that.