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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 5 Apr 2000

Vol. 517 No. 4

Ceisteanna–Questions. - Official Engagements.

John Bruton

Question:

3 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 5 to 14 of 29 February 2000, he has received a reply from the European Commission in response to the issue of HIV/AIDS which he raised with Commission President, Mr. Prodi; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7288/00]

John Bruton

Question:

4 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the correspondence he has received from the British Prime Minister, Mr. Blair, regarding the issue of droit de suite; the number of occasions on which the British Prime Minister has written to him on this subject; and the response issued by him on each occasion. [8176/00]

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

5 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he has received a reply to the letter he wrote to the President of the EU Commission regarding the AIDS/HIV problem in Africa; the plans, if any, he has to put proposals to other EU leaders to deal with this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8876/00]

John Bruton

Question:

6 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the communication, if any, he has had with the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, following his success in the recent presidential election; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9527/00]

John Bruton

Question:

7 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr. Javier Solana; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9598/00]

John Bruton

Question:

8 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 5 to 14 of 29 February 2000, the national response to the EU Presidency paper has been submitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9646/00]

John Bruton

Question:

9 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the special EU Heads of Government meeting in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9647/00]

John Bruton

Question:

10 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the bilateral meetings, if any, he has had with other Heads of Government at the EU Summit in Lisbon; the matters discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9648/00]

John Bruton

Question:

11 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the President of the European Commission, Mr. Prodi, at the European Summit in Lisbon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9649/00]

John Bruton

Question:

12 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the Heads of State of Government he had bilateral meetings with and the matters discussed when he attended the EU-Africa Summit in Cairo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9727/00]

John Bruton

Question:

13 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the EU-Africa Summit in Cairo on 3 and 4 April 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9772/00]

John Bruton

Question:

14 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the official engagements he undertook when attending the EU-Africa Summit in Cairo or en route; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9773/00]

Gay Mitchell

Question:

15 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Taoiseach if he has considered preparation for the upcoming EU-Africa Summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9870/00]

Joe Higgins

Question:

16 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Taoiseach if he met with Mr. Javier Solana; and, if so, if he will to report on his discussions with him. [9925/00]

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

17 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his participation in the EU-Africa Summit in Cairo; and the main issues discussed and decisions made. [9933/00]

I propose to take Questions Nos, 3 to 17, inclusive, together.

As I outlined in my comprehensive statement to the House on 29 March, I attended the Special European Council in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March. In advance of the summit, I submitted on 6 March, to Prime Minister Guterres, Ireland's national response to the Presidency paper on the content of the European Council. I also copied it to our European partners and made it available publicly. The paper focused on our priorities for the summit. I also submitted a joint paper with Prime Minister Blair on 16 March highlighting areas of common concern for our two countries on which we wished to see progress during the summit. I have placed both our national response and the joint paper in the Dáil Library.

While I do not propose to repeat my statement in full, it is important to restate that the summit set the Union a new strategic goal for the next decade, namely, to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

The summit focused on the Union's competitiveness across a wide range of areas but, more specifically, on harnessing the potential of Europe's greatest asset – its people and its innovation and knowledge base. The targets set for investment in human resources and a wide range of research and investment are fully in line with our goals under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and the national development plan.

The Lisbon European Council marks an important step in closing the gap between the European and US economies. I am particularly pleased that the outcome of the summit reflected so much of the principles and values that underpin our approach at home. The conclusions demonstrate the Union's level of recognition for the potential contribution which the information society can make to the lives of everyone. In this context, I welcome the high priority that the Commission and the European Council are giving to rapid expansion of low cost, high speed Internet access. The availability of broadband and other advanced communications infrastructure and services at low costs is one of the prerequisites of an economy based on innovation and knowledge.

I welcome the commitment given for the establishment of a European charter for small business which should commit member states to focus on small companies as the main engines for job creation in Europe and to respond specifically to their needs.

As regards the Single Market, EU leaders gave a commitment to speed up liberalisation in areas such as gas, electricity, postal services and transport. Furthermore, it was agreed that the financial services action plan should be implemented by 2005. In addition, full implementation of the risk capital action plan by 2003 will be ensured.

With regard to the key priority of social inclusion, the summit marked an important step in efforts to mainstream the promotion of inclusion in member states' employment, education and training, health and housing policies. The summit also acknowledged that the European social model needs to be adapted to ensure its long-term sustainability in the face of the Union's aging population, promote social inclusion and gender equality and provide quality health services.

Importantly, it was also agreed that the European Council would assume a stronger guiding and co-ordinating role in relation to economic policy to ensure a more coherent strategic direction and effective monitoring of progress. The European Council will accordingly hold a meeting every spring devoted to economic and social questions.

As I have reported separately, I met with Prime Minister Blair during the course of the summit. We discussed the latest developments in Northern Ireland as well as the issues on the agenda of the European Council.

As I indicated to the House on 29 February, following my visit to South Africa, I wrote to Commission President Prodi in January on the issue of HIV/AIDS in developing countries. My letter stressed the need for greater collective action and suggested that there was a case for reviewing the resources devoted to this issue both at Community level and in the member states. I also raised the issue of access for developing countries to medicines necessary for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

President Prodi has replied, outlining his shared concerns about the AIDS crisis and indicating that the Commission would welcome a discussion on the issue at Council level in the near future. Such a discussion might be based on the review of the implementation of the existing Council regulation governing Community expenditure on HIV/AIDS in developing countries. I have also received responses from Prime Minister Rasmussen of Denmark, Prime Minister D'Alema of Italy and Chancellor Schussel of Austria expressing strong support for my call for a strengthened international response to the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS.

I understand that, following discussions with the Portuguese Presidency, the issue of HIV/AIDS will now be discussed by Development Ministers at their Council meeting on 18 May. Ireland is doubling expenditure on HIV/AIDS related activities in our bilateral aid programme to over £2 million. We have also more than tripled our contribution to UNAIDS to £250,000. We have mainstreamed the fight against AIDS into all of our development activities. Further national contributions to HIV/AIDS related activities are under consideration.

The Africa-Europe Summit held in Cairo on 3 and 4 April under the aegis of the Organisation of African Unity and European Union was a unique occasion that brought together Heads of Government from EU and north and sub-Saharan African states for the first time. A total of 67 countries were represented at the summit. The holding of this summit was first proposed during our Presidency of the EU in 1996 and Ireland has always been supportive of the proposal. I was, therefore, particularly pleased to attend the summit and I was accompanied by the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy O'Donnell.

The primary concerns of the summit, which are reflected in the declaration and plan of action agreed at the summit, were economic co-operation and integration of Africa into the world economy, the challenges of achieving sustainable development, action to strengthen and support democratic principles of governance and health issues, particularly in relation to the ongoing struggle against HIV/AIDS.

The Irish contribution to the development panel of the summit laid particular emphasis on the challenges faced by African countries in achieving sustainable economic and social progress development in light of the very heavy burden of debt which they bear and the historical legacy of underdevelopment and the ravages wrought in recent years by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the brunt of which has been borne by sub-Saharan Africa. In making these comments we highlighted Ireland's traditional and ongoing commitment to assisting in the continent's development through the Government's overseas development aid programme and through the work of Irish NGOs, both secular and religious. Throughout the summit my EU colleagues and I also sought to emphasise the importance of the role of civil society working with Government in achieving and securing economic and social progress.

In the weeks leading up to the summit, officials from my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs were in constant contact with the Egyptian authorities, as hosts of the summit, and officials from other participating states. Arising from these contacts, during the course of the summit I met with President Mubarak of Egypt, Colonel Ghadaffi of Libya, President Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Chissano of Mozambique, President Mpaka of Tanzania, President Musevini of Uganda and President Mbeki of South Africa. I also held a number of short meetings relating to Security Council issues with representatives of other countries. During these meetings we discussed matters of mutual economic and political interest, the work of the summit and the prospects for deepening EU-African relations. All the leaders I met in the course of the summit expressed their interest and support for the peace process in Northern Ireland and I took the opportunity to update them on the situation.

At all the meetings I took the opportunity to highlight Ireland's campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council and to seek support for our campaign. In addition to attending the various working sessions of the summit, I attended a dinner hosted by President Mubarak and a lunch hosted by Prime Minister Guetteres. I was accompanied at these functions by the Minister of State and the Irish Ambassador to Egypt. I am confident the summit will mark the beginning of a new era of co-operation in EU-Africa relations given the progress made in focusing on debt relief, developing a plan of action and the necessary framework for monitoring implementation.

On a separate matter, the Prime Minister Mr. Blair wrote to me on 14 April 1999, seeking my support in opposing the proposed directive on droit de suite. I replied at that time indicating our support for his position in opposing the directive on the basis, inter alia, that decisions on whether to apply droit de suite should remain with member states on the basis of subsidiarity. Since that time the matter has been extensively discussed at various levels in the Union, most recently on 16 March at the internal market council, where it was noted that agreement had been reached on a compromise package which will allow a common position on the proposed directive to be adopted formally by Council in the near future.

In keeping with the normal protocol on such occasions, I sent a letter of congratulations to President-elect Putin on Monday of last week. I took the opportunity to indicate to Mr. Putin that it will fall to him to consolidate and extend the democratisation of Russian society, to oversee the process of economic and social reform and to achieve a political settlement of the Chechnya problem.

Finally, I met the Secretary General of the European Council and high representative for the common foreign and security policy, Mr. Javier Solana, on Friday, 31 March. Mr. Solana, in his new role, is conducting a tour of EU member state capitals. We had a useful meeting in which our discussions centred on the western Balkans, Russia, the Middle East, security and defence, development, enlargement and the Intergovernmental Conference. In particular, we discussed the current proposals regarding European security and defence.

In this context, I reiterated that developments in this area should continue to be framed on the basis of the Amsterdam Treaty and that they should be focused on the Petersberg Tasks. I was grateful to be reassured by Mr. Solana that the current progress on this issue will not lead to consideration of the introduction of a mutual defence commitment into the EU context. The focus will remain crisis management and peacekeeping.

With regard to the Taoiseach's communications with President Putin, is it true the Irish Government has decided not to support the suspension of Russia from membership of the Council of Europe notwithstanding the serious abuse of human rights by Russia in its military campaign in Chechnya?

Has the Taoiseach made any protest to the Russian authorities about the way the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, Mary Robinson, was treated by the Russians during her recent visit? She was refused a meeting with President Putin and was described by Mr. Vladimir Kalamanov as having told a common lie when she said she had not been allowed to visit the places in Chechnya she wished to visit. It was further stated by Mr. Kalamanov that conversing with UN Commissioner Robinson was like conversing with the deaf and dumb. Will the Taoiseach join me in condemning these unjustified and offensive remarks by people who obviously have much to hide as otherwise they would not use such language?

I agree with the Deputy's last remarks. We support the work and the efforts of the UN Commissioner and the kind of treatment she received will be dealt with in whatever way is considered most appropriate. She will report in Geneva at the end of this week on the visit in which she attempted to examine the camps in Chechnya from both perspectives. That would be an appropriate time for us to respond.

Tomorrow there will be a discussion in the parliamentary session of the Council of Europe on two proposals. I am not up to date with what took place at yesterday's session as I have not yet received a report. However, it is unlikely that anything has changed from what the Minister for Foreign Affairs told me before I went away. There are two issues before the meeting tomorrow: first, the exclusion of Russia from the Council of Europe and, second, the suspension of Russia's voting rights. Two or three days ago it looked more likely that the second proposal would take effect. Ireland has the chair and that is the position the Minister was likely to take. However, what happens is subject to the discussions yesterday and today.

That was the view a few days ago, which was prior to Mrs. Robinson's visit, and I assume it has hardened considerably in the meantime. It was considered that to exclude Russia altogether might weaken the council's influence and that suspending Russia's vote would be the better tactical decision.

I should mention two other matters. There have been indications from the Russian side to the Council of Europe in recent days that it will agree to Council of Europe observers going to Russia at an early date and to giving them access to what they want to see. I do not know the strength of those indications given what has happened since Monday. The EU troika is also to go to Russia. I spoke yesterday evening to the high representative, Mr. Solana, who told me on Friday that he would go directly to Russia from Cairo today. However, given how matters developed for the UN and Mrs. Robinson's visit, he changed his mind and will now wait for a few days, probably until the UN Commissioner reports to Geneva on Thursday or Friday.

Over the next few days the Council of Europe should receive some further contacts from the UN on its report and from the EU Presidency on its visit to Mr. Putin.

Is the Taoiseach aware that the Russian authorities recently published a White Paper on Chechnya? It contains the following statement:

Of course, not each Chechen is a robber, [just as] not each Russian is an upright person. But it is a historical fact that a 'source of infection', that is not quite clear even to modern analysts, has been smouldering in Chechnya for many centuries now.

Will the Taoiseach agree that this characterises an entire people as ethnically unsound? This is the type of ethnic comment that caused war in Europe for many years. It is most important that a strong stand is taken by the European Union against comments such as this which generate ethnic hatred. If the Irish Government is pre pared to take what might be an excessively severe stand in regard to a small country, Austria, it must be seen to take a stronger stand against a large country such as Russia which is not just saying but doing the wrong thing in Chechnya.

I have already outlined the EU position vis-à-vis Austria. What is happening in Chechnya is wrong, regardless of Mr. Putin's position last September when terrorists bombed several hundred people in Russia and his decision to take military action to protect the states around Chechnya where there were terrorists and guerillas operating against his people. The Council of Europe, the EU and UN have made their views clear about the way he has gone about that.

The European Union stated that it was looking to President Putin following the election to boost democracy, promote reforms, improve ties between the two powers and to sort out the position in Chechnya through proper laws. The concern is that everything that has been said and seen so far indicates that we are a long way from that position. I refer to the EU Commission, the Council of Europe and the troika meeting. The EU-Russian summit is on 17 May. It is still the intention that the EU will meet Russia and it is hoped there will be clear reports before that meeting to know the exact position. Needless to say, it is disappointing that the UN High Commissioner was not allowed to see what she wished and that the full examination which she wished to report to Geneva was not allowed, not to mention the fact the President did not see fit to meet her.

Because of time constraints, l would just like to say I support the thrust of the questions put forward by Deputy Bruton on Russia and Chechnya. I would like to ask the Taoiseach a separate but related question to those he has answered. I refer to the Taoiseach's speech in Cairo which I read and which is on his website. He stated that there is a compelling argument for additional assistance to be given to the African countries to combat the scourge of AIDS. I believe that is a fair and accurate paraphrase of what the Taoiseach said since I am not allowed to quote.

If the Taoiseach decides not to give some portion of the windfall of an additional £700 million, which the Minister for Finance reported receiving yesterday, to the AIDS programme in addition to what he already referred to, his words are mere rhetoric. A windfall of £700 million was reported yesterday which is being set off against the national debt. Why can we not set off some of it against the African AIDS crisis? What is the Taoiseach going to do about it, and when?

I already spelled out that it is our intention to honour our commitments on ODA.

Over seven years.

The Deputy will know there is a case for increasing it. We have to gear ourselves in more ways than one. We are paying £190 million this year, which is a lot of money. Five or six years ago we were giving only about £25 million to £30 million to ODA.

It was more than that.

The 1992 figure—

I was referring to the period in which Labour was in Government.

I think I worked on the ODA figure with the Deputy that year. Perhaps it was £40 million; I cannot find the figure.

The Taoiseach spent half his speech talking about AIDS. Why does he not put his money where his mouth is?

I already said we have put another £2 million into the programme, and we will continue to do that. We are committed to increasing the programme. There are many things we can do in regard to the AIDS programme in terms of medicine and drugs. We now have a very good policy document. I am sure the Deputy will agree I do not claim any credit for the HIV-AIDS document – our strategy on it. The resources necessary to move on that have been provided. It is not a problem at this stage. The allocation of £190 million to agencies and groups is a lot of money and we are committed to increasing it. If we reach 0.7% by 2007, it will reach £600 million. We are talking about a considerable amount of money. It will have to be done on the basis of delivering properly focused programmes.

Why did the Taoiseach devote half his speech in Cairo to the AIDS question? Why did he say the rapid spread of the AIDS-HIV virus only adds to the already compelling arguments in favour of increased development assistance? If these are the Taoiseach's words, when will he write the cheque? He got £700 million yesterday which he did not anticipate. This is rhetoric.

This country should be proud of its contribution.

The Taoiseach did not mean what he said.

The volume of our aid budget has increased more than anyone else's. We are putting in a substantial amount of resources and will continue to do that. When President Mbeki asked me in January to try to ensure the summit was held, because it was not going to be on at that time—

Half the Taoiseach's speech was on AIDS.

Precisely, because we were asked in Cairo to try to get this issue treated seriously. Europe is putting in about £50 million in total. We are spending enormous amounts of money on ODA and it is growing rapidly. The Deputy should acknowledge that. He keeps talking about ODA and he seems—

I am quoting the Taoiseach's words.

The words are being supported. I just announced that more than £2.25 million is being put in.

The Taoiseach got more than £700 million yesterday.

We cannot have this sort of cross-fire across the Chamber. I will take two brief final supplementary questions from Deputies Donal Carey and Gormley and a final reply from the Taoiseach.

What promises did the Taoiseach make to Colonel Ghadaffi in return for setting up a Libyan Embassy in Dublin?

He will not appear before the Flood Tribunal.

Did he make promises on arms, cattle or otherwise?

Does the Taoiseach agree with the proposals put forward by Javier Solana? He suggested that the NATO Secretary General should attend EU summits and that he should attend NATO meetings. He also suggested that NATO officers should attend EU military staff meetings. Does the Taoiseach agree with these proposals?

We did not discuss an embassy or an office with Colonel Ghadaffi on this occasion. In 1998, the last time political officials were here, it was stated, and has been since the changes in the regime and internationally, that if Libya requested to open an office here, it would be agreed to. However, we did not discuss it. I made no promises to Colonel Ghadaffi. I endeavoured to open up the live cattle trade again and to clear the considerable difficulties on the veterinary, agriculture and trade side which have existed for the past few years. I think we made some progress on that, although we have not resolved the issues. I subsequently spoke to their foreign affairs minister to see if we can move on the other issues. We have an enormous market in Egypt and 80% of frozen beef used there comes from Ireland. We are trying to open that market in Libya which would be of enormous benefit to our industry.

What about arms?

I do not know what arms the Deputy is talking about but I had no discussions about arms with Colonel Ghadaffi

Is the Taoiseach not concerned about IRA arms from Libya?

I am very concerned about all arms. No illegal arms should be held anywhere, as the Deputy knows. I had no discussions with Colonel Ghadaffi on that. Perhaps if the Deputy has recent information on that, he should make it known to the gardaí.

I met Mr. Solana last week and made our position clear to him, which I also set out in my speech. I do not agree with many of the suggestions he made but, as I said in my reply, I am glad he stated he will stick to the Petersberg tasks in crisis management situations and will not go outside that.

With which proposals does the Taoiseach not agree?

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