Ruairí Quinn
Question:7 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his visit to the United States and the United Nations on 1 December 2000. [28575/00]
Ceisteanna – Questions. - Official Engagements.
John Bruton
Question:8 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the official engagements he undertook on his recent visit to the United States of America; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28624/00]
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:9 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his recent trip to the United States of America. [28625/00]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:10 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his telephone discussion with the Egyptian President, Mr. Mubarak. [28672/00]
John Bruton
Question:11 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the number of occasions on which he has spoken recently by telephone with the Egyptian President, Mr. Mubarak; the matters discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29520/00]
John Bruton
Question:12 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with President Chirac of France; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28251/00]
John Bruton
Question:13 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting in Dublin on 29 November 2000 with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Mr. Verhofstadt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28397/00]
John Bruton
Question:14 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his attendance in Nice on 7 and 8 December 2000 at the EU heads of Government meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29122/00]
John Bruton
Question:15 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting at the EU summit in Nice with the President of the European Commission, Mr. Prodi; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29123/00]
John Bruton
Question:16 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting at the EU summit in Nice with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Blair; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29124/00]
John Bruton
Question:17 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the leadership of the Irish Farmers Association in Nice in 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1155/01]
John Bruton
Question:18 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to Malta; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1156/01]
John Bruton
Question:19 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to Cyprus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1157/01]
John Bruton
Question:20 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to Morocco; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1158/01]
John Bruton
Question:21 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the communications he has received from the Swedish Prime Minister outlining the Swedish Government's priorities for its EU Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1467/01]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:22 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his visit to Cyprus and on his discussions with political leaders there with particular regard to the application of Cyprus for membership of the EU. [1587/01]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:23 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his visit to Malta and on his discussions with political leaders there with particular regard to the application of Malta for membership of the EU. [1588/01]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:24 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his visit to Morocco and on his discussions with political leaders there with particular regard to the position of Western Sahara. [1589/01]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:25 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his participation in the Nice summit. [1595/01]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:26 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the official overseas trips he will make in the first four months of 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1760/01]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:27 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the European Union meetings he will attend in the first four months of 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1761/01]
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Question:28 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to Malta. [2085/01]
John Bruton
Question:29 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the communication of congratulations he has sent to the new President of the Philippines, Ms Arroyo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2096/01]
John Bruton
Question:30 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will be attending any special meetings convened under the Swedish Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2098/01]
Trevor Sargent
Question:31 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the outcome of his recent contacts with the Egyptian President, Mr. Mubarak. [2131/01]
Trevor Sargent
Question:32 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent official visits to Malta, Cyprus and Morocco. [2135/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 32, inclusive, together.
With the Minister for Foreign Affairs, I attended the European Council in Nice from 7 to 11 December. As I outlined in my comprehensive statement to the House on 13 December, I was pleased with the outcome of the intergovernmental conference negotiations. I do not propose on this occasion to repeat my earlier comments on the detail of the Treaty of Nice. However, in broad terms I remain satisfied that on the key issues the deal we secured was a good one for Ireland and the best available to us.
Furthermore, the objective of the negotiations was to reach an agreement which would prepare the Union's institutions for enlargement. That objective has now been achieved. It was essential that we came away from Nice signalling to the accession candidates that the way was now clear to enlargement, depending solely on their capacity to meet the various criteria for membership. It is now possible for the accession negotiations to accelerate and intensify, and this will be a priority for the current Swedish Presidency and indeed for the EU as a whole over the next 18 months or so.
As I stated before, enlargement is in the interests of Europe as a whole and of Ireland. It will underpin democracy and stability across the Continent and will promote greater prosperity throughout Europe. There will be many new opportunities for Irish exporters and investors in an enlarged Single Market. Given our historical experience and our experience of EU membership, we have a special responsibility to offer our potential new partners the same opportunities from which we were able to benefit.
In advance of the Nice European Council, I met the Austrian Chancellor, Mr. Wolfgang Schussel, the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr. Guy Verhofstadt, and the French President, Mr. Jacques Chirac in Dublin, as part of his pre-Nice tour of capitals, to discuss the issues arising at the summit. During the summit itself I had numerous informal discussions with my colleagues, including President Prodi. I had a separate meeting with the Prime Minister Mr. Blair during the course of the summit, primarily to discuss the situation in Northern Ireland on which intensive work is continuing.
With regard to ratification, I have said from the outset that our approach to the negotiations was to seek the best deal for Ireland and the Union, and thereafter to consider the procedures necessary for ratification. The question of whether a referendum will be required continues to be under urgent consideration. The Government will take a final decision when the formal text of the Nice Treaty has been finalised by EU legal experts and when the advice of the Attorney General has been received. I hope and expect that we will soon be in a position to take that decision. However, I have asked that officials ensure that the preparatory work necessary for a referendum is put in train to give the Government the full range of options as to timing.
I met representatives of the Irish Farmers' Association at Nice to discuss the BSE crisis in light of discussions that were taking place on the package of measures agreed by the Agriculture Council to combat BSE. I listened to its concerns and argued strongly at the council that appropriate market support measures be put in place to compensate beef producers for the fall in prices. The Presidency conclusions reflected this input.
I spoke to President Mubarak by telephone from New York on 1 December to discuss the Egyptian ban on beef imports from European countries. I assured the president of our commitment to maintaining the "optimally stable" rating of our herd within the EU and pointed out that the current problems regarding BSE relate specifically to developments in countries other than Ireland. As the House will be aware from the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Deputy Walsh's, reply of 12 December, despite positive meetings at ministerial, parliamentary and official level, the Egyptian authorities have since extended indefinitely their initial four-week ban on beef imports from European countries. The Minister, Deputy Walsh, his officials and Irish Embassy officials will continue to ensure that the relevant authorities in our export markets are aware of the safety of Irish beef, and they will work towards an early lifting of the Egyptian and other import bans.
The reason for my visit to New York on 1 December was to present to the United Nations, on behalf of the Government and people of Ireland, the gift of a sculpture of an emigrant ship entitled "The Arrival". I was accompanied to the presentation ceremony by the Minister of State, Deputy Cullen, who commissioned the sculpture through the Office of Public Works, and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. Following the presentation ceremony, during which I met a substantial number of UN ambassadors, I attended and spoke at a dinner, hosted by the Minister of State, Deputy Cullen, which was attended by a large number of representatives of the Irish-American community. I also attended the launch of the North American branch of the NUI Galway Foundation.
Between 7 and 11 January, I visited Malta, Cyprus and Morocco. My visits to Malta and Cyprus were further elements in my extensive and continuing series of visits to our future partners in the European Union and proved valuable in strengthening our relations. I developed a greater understanding of the issues of most concern to them and believe that they found our experience to be of particular interest and relevance.
While in Malta, I met President De Marco, Prime Minister Fenech Adami, a number of his Ministers, and the opposition leader, Dr. Sant. We held useful discussions on the question of Maltese accession to the EU, the outcome of the Nice Summit and a number of international and bilateral issues. I also addressed the Maltese Chamber of Commerce on Ireland's experience of EU membership.
In Cyprus I held meetings with President Clerides and other Government Ministers, as well as with the former President Vassiliou, the chief negotiator on EU accession, and Speaker Kyprianou. We discussed the Cyprus problem, Cypriot progress in the accession negotiations, bilateral co-operation and the Northern Ireland peace process. In relation to the political situation in Cyprus, I indicated that Ireland, in particular as a member of the UN Security Council, strongly supports the current efforts of the UN Secretary-General to promote negotiations between both sides and to achieve a resolution of the problem within the framework of the various Security Council resolutions on the matter. I also made clear that, as indicated by the Helsinki European Council in December 1999, a settlement of the Cyprus problem is not a pre-condition for accession.
I also visited Irish Defence Forces and Garda personnel serving with the UN mission on the island. Ireland has participated in the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus since its inception in 1964. I met the special representative of the Secretary General, Mr. Wlosowicz, and General Rana, the commander of the UN force. I addressed the Chamber of Commerce in Nicosia on Ireland's experience of EU membership. I have arranged for my speeches to the Maltese and Cypriot Chambers of Commerce to be laid before the House.
My visit to Morocco was the first official one by a Taoiseach and provided an important opportunity to extend our bilateral political and economic relations, and further work will be carried forward at official level. I met King Mohammed VI and Prime Minister Youssoufi. I also met representatives of the business community in Morocco. My discussions with Prime Minister Youssoufi focused on bilateral issues, the Middle East peace process and the Western Sahara question. In relation to this last issue, the Prime Minister briefed me on ongoing attempts, under the auspices of the UN, to find a basis for the resolution of the problem. I pledged Irish support within the UN Security Council for all efforts to find an agreed settlement of this very long-running issue.
In relation to the Swedish Presidency, Prime Minister Persson wrote to me on 2 January outlining the Presidency's current thinking on the forthcoming European Council in Stockholm on 23-24 March. He indicated that the Presidency remains fully committed to implementing the full range of strategies and measures that will allow the Union to reach the targets set at the Lisbon European Council last March, including making the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world by 2010. I issued a reply to Prime Minister Persson on 19 January reiterating our support for the achievement of the goals set at Lisbon and setting out in a preliminary way a number of issues of particular concern to us. Intensive further work and contacts will continue over the next two months and I expect to meet Prime Minister Persson in the run up to Stockholm.
In addition to the progress the Presidency hopes to make on economic issues at Stockholm, I know Prime Minister Persson is, over the course of the Swedish Presidency, particularly determined to make substantial progress on the enlargement and environment agendas. I fully support these aims. I wrote to Ms Gloria Arroyo on 24 January to congratulate her on assuming office as President of the Republic of the Philippines.
As regards forthcoming international visits over the next four months, other than my visits to Britain in connection with the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, I plan to visit Scotland on 11 February to unveil a Famine memorial and Wales on St. David's Day, 1 March, to address the National Assembly for Wales. I also plan to visit Japan from 9 to 14 March and Washington for the customary St. Patrick's Day visit. Preparations for these visits are being finalised. As I indicated earlier, I will also attend the spring European Council in Stockholm on 23-24 March.
The House is aware that under Standing Orders 45 minutes is allocated for Taoiseach's questions and that has expired. I will allow Deputy Quinn to ask a question.
I happily abide by your ruling, Sir, but I am sure the General Office will understand that all of these questions were grouped together for understandable reasons and that a degree of inspired tolerance will be exercised when new questions are put down to follow up on these.
Is the Taoiseach prepared to indicate that, notwithstanding the legal advice he may get in respect of the legal text that will become available for the Nice Treaty which many people may argue would not technically or legally require us to hold a referendum, in the interests of maintaining democratic support and public engagement in the European Union project, the Government is committed to holding a referendum at a suitable time later this year?
I would like to go through the normal procedure on this matter and Deputy Quinn knows this because he and I worked on the earlier one in Amsterdam. I would like to briefly update the House on a few important dates. It is expected that the editing work of the jurists-linguists group to ensure legal coherence in the official languages of the Union, including Irish, will be completed in early February – hopefully, in the next ten days or so. A decision on holding a referendum will be taken shortly afterwards and when we have the final advice of the Attorney General. The formal signature of the treaty is scheduled to take place in Nice on 26 February. In a formal sense, I think we have to wait for that but Deputy Quinn has asked me about this a number of times. I said this at the IEA function in November and last March.
On the enlargement process and Nice, there have been very few side arguments in Europe this month. Practically all political groupings in every country, large and small, have been very supportive because it is a new process of enlargement. Not holding me to the final decision, I think the democratic franchise and the involvement of the electorate in that process would be useful.
Does the Taoiseach accept the people should be given the explicit opportunity to vote on enlargement of the European Union which is the subtext of what the Nice Treaty is about? Even though the legal advice may be to the effect that, technically speaking, a referendum is not required, a political referendum is required so the people can respond to the very good statements made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the moral commitment we should have in regard to enlargement.
I think Deputy Quinn knows my view on this, if required. I have said all along, because of the importance of the enlargement process, I would err on the side of a referendum.
The Deputy will accept that we have to make a formal decision on that, as enlargement will affect things for the next ten to 15 if not 50 years. All groups in the European political parties, even the most Euro sceptic of countries, have strongly favoured these proposals because it is the enlargement process. That is not to say there are not some gripes about some smaller parts. It is important in this country as well.
Suppose the decision is to have a referendum, will the Taoiseach indicate the approximate date when he anticipates such a referendum would take place? In relation to the European Union, now under the Swedish Presidency, has Ireland any priority it hopes to achieve during that Presidency? On the American visit last December, there are two aspects to which I wish the Taoiseach to refer. In view of the announced aversion of the Taoiseach to American dollars influencing Irish politics, will he confirm that there were not any private arrangements in relation to fundraising for the Fianna Fáil Party while he was on that trip to America? In relation to the current relationship with the new American Presidency, has the Taoiseach made any attempt to get an indication that there will be an engagement by President Bush in Irish affairs other than the published letter sent to Gerry Adams? Has any approach been made to try to interest him in Irish affairs and, in particular, in the peace process in light of the fact that he has not to date—
That is a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
—given any indication of such interest?
There is a question to the Minister for Foreign Affairs immediately after this.
The Nice Treaty has to be passed by the end of next year, but if a referendum is required it should be dealt with this year. Clearly that is our intention. In regard to fundraising, I was not engaged in any dollar func tions. However, I was involved in a fundraising effort for Galway NUI – I am sure, Deputy Higgins and others would allow me help in that cause—
I have no problem with that.
—but not anything to do with the political system. We hope to maintain US interest in the peace process in numerous ways, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, and many contacts we have made with members of the new Administration yesterday. Mr. Ben Gilman, former head of the international relations committee, now head of the sub-committee on European matters, and a number of his colleagues from the House who take an interest in Ireland, visited us at the end of a visit to the Middle East where they were dealing with Israeli matters, and to Cyprus where they were dealing with the difficulties between Greece and Turkey. They continue to have a great interest in Ireland. Most of that delegation were Republican members and it is certainly their wish to ensure that the people associated and involved with the President will take an interest. Precisely who they will be is not clear as the various positions have not been filled. The great strength in recent years was that the President's interest was enormous. However, we had great contacts with people such as Tony Lake, Nancy Soderberg, Sandy Berger and good contacts are an important element. The recruitment of staff will continue for the next six weeks or so, but we hope that by St. Patrick's day the position will be clearer. In the meantime we will continue to keep our various contacts fully informed. Our ambassador Seán Ó hUiginn will actively work at keeping the new Administration informed.
That concludes questions to the Taoiseach.