I attended the Copenhagen European Council on Thursday and Friday, 12 and 13 December. I was accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for European affairs. The conclusions of the European Council have been laid before both Houses.
"Historic" is a word that is much overused. Those of us who engage in politics are perhaps particularly guilty of the overuse of this most valuable word. Of all the European Council meetings I have attended, both as Taoiseach and as Minister for Finance, the Copenhagen European Council is the one of which the word "historic" can be used without fear of contradiction.
Last weekend marked a watershed in the history of Europe. In Copenhagen, the leaders of the existing member states of the European Union and the leaders of the ten applicant countries brought to a conclusion enlargement negotiations which mark a quantum leap in the development of European unity. In welcoming the new member states into the European Union, over seven years of protracted and detailed negotiations have been brought to a successful conclusion. We have also given a clear signal on behalf of our peoples that Europe is determined to be united as a zone of peace, prosperity and freedom. This is a moment for celebration. Europe has given concrete expression to the aspirations of centuries.
I am confident that the ten accession states will ratify the Treaty of Accession and that Ireland as President in Office of the European Council will welcome the new member states into the European Union on 1 May 2004.
Enlargement will pose significant challenges for Europe and for Ireland. In Europe's case, the procedures, structures and policies of the Union will have to cope with the largest intake of new member states since its foundation. I have no doubt that further significant reforms and changes will be required at the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference if Europe is to remain effective. Ireland will be active in promoting such reforms while remaining vigilant to ensure that the essential balances which underpin the European Union are not endangered.
For Ireland, the challenges posed by enlargement are also significant. We will no longer be the second smallest member state. We are, in addition, becoming one of the richest member states. As such, our approach to European negotiations must continue to evolve and become more focused. In order to advance our core national interests we will need to continue to build alliances with the new member states while deepening and strengthening our alliances with the existing members. We will need to identify our national priorities with care and pursue them with dogged determination. I am confident that Ireland can succeed in the enlarged Europe and I intend to ensure that European policy continues to be a central priority for the Government.
The main business at the European Council was the conclusion of the enlargement negotiations. As is always the case with such negotiations, difficult compromises were required on all sides. The result is, however, a good one for Europe and a good one for Ireland. While additional resources were made available to the accession states, the core elements of the agreement on funding reached at the Brussels European Council last October remain in place. In particular, the agreement on agricultural expenditure reached at Brussels remains. We can now look forward to welcoming Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia into the European Union. The accession treaty will be signed in Athens on 16 April next. We will be joined by 75 million new European Union citizens from 1 May 2004. I am happy to say that it will fall to Ireland's Presidency to formally welcome the new member states into the European Union.
Ireland will be forging ever closer ties with the accession countries from now on and I look forward to visiting the Czech Republic and welcoming the Prime Ministers of Poland and Estonia to Dublin in the new year. These are amongst the range of bilateral contacts that members of the Government will have with our future partners in the lead up to our Presidency in 2004.
The European Union has completed negotiations with Cyprus and it will be admitted as a new member state to the European Union. Nevertheless, we confirm the strong preference for accession by a united Cyprus. We welcome the commitment of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots to continue negotiations with a view to concluding a comprehensive settlement by the end of next February on the basis of proposals presented by the United Nations General Secretary, Kofi Annan. We encourage the leaders of both sides to seize this historic opportunity.
The European Council confirmed that the accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania will continue. The objective is to welcome these two countries as members of the European Union in 2007.
If the European Council decides in December 2004, on the basis of an EU Commission report, that Turkey fulfils the political criteria for membership of the European Union, accession negotiations will open without delay. The decision on Turkey balances the incentive of a timeframe in which its application for membership will be considered and the need to fulfil the criteria for membership of the European Union. The new Government in Turkey has shown that it is willing to take the necessary steps to meet the criteria which were established for European Union membership almost ten years ago. The European Union, for its part, will strengthen its pre-accession strategy for Turkey.
The European Council also confirmed its determination to support the efforts by the countries in the Western Balkans, including Albania, Croatia and the former Republic of Yugoslavia, to move closer to the European Union while respecting the political criteria set down for membership.
The Greek Presidency will organise a summit next June between EU member states and the countries of the stabilisation and association process. The European Union will also work to enhance its relations with Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and the southern Mediterranean countries based on a long-term approach promoting democratic and economic reforms. The overall aim is to ensure that the enlarged European Union is a force for stability and progress within and beyond its borders.
On the issue of the functioning of the Presidency of the Council in the wake of enlargement, the European Council took note of an initial report from the Presidency.
The European Council also marked a major breakthrough in relation to European Security and Defence Policy. Berlin Plus relates to the arrangements whereby the EU can have access to NATO's assets and resources for the Petersberg Tasks, an example of which is the possible EU peacekeeping operation in Macedonia. The development of these arrangements had been envisaged since the early evolution of the European Security and Defence Policy, but the issue became bound up in the broader question of a date for Turkish accession talks and a settlement in Cyprus and its accession to the EU. The EU has now agreed a basis to take the matter forward, on foot of proposals by High Representative Solana. NATO is currently responding to the EU position and we are hopeful that the outstanding issues can be resolved without further delay.
The Chair of the European Convention, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, made a progress report on the work of the Convention to the European Council. There was an exchange of views with the chairman on foot of his report. I want to underline to this House that the Government is in no doubt about the significance of the convention and fully accepts that its outcome will be highly influential. At the same time, we are also aware that final decisions on treaty change are for the subsequent intergovernmental conference.
The Government is fully aware of the challenges ahead. As I already indicated, we are working in the European Convention, and we will work in the forthcoming intergovernmental conference, to ensure that the European Union is reformed and modernised to meet the challenges which flow from the enlargement of the EU.
In the European Convention, Ireland has been among the most active and influential of the small member states. At plenary sessions, we have made contributions on virtually all substantive agenda topics and we will continue to make contributions. In the convention working groups, the Government and the Oireachtas representatives have made very significant contributions and we are grateful to them for the time and effort they have put into this. We are, and will continue to be, involved in very extensive networking at all levels on appropriate occasions.
In Copenhagen, the European Council decided that the new member states will participate fully in the next intergovernmental conference. This was an important decision and one which Ireland has advocated for some time.
On the Middle East, we adopted a declaration underlining the importance of the quartet meet ing of the UN, the US, the EU and Russia in Washington on 20 December and the adoption of the joint road map with clear timelines for the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005. We expressed our alarm at the continuing illegal settlements and urged the Government of Israel to reverse its policy and freeze all settlements immediately. We called on the Israeli and Palestinian people to break the endless cycle of violence and condemned unequivocally all acts of terrorism.
On Iraq, we underlined the full and unequivocal support of the EU for Security Council Resolution 1441 and reconfirmed the EU's goal of disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. We noted Iraq's acceptance of Resolution 1441 and that it has submitted its declaration on its programmes of weapons of mass destruction and related products.
The role of the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security must be respected and the EU will continue to give its full support to ensure full and immediate compliance with Resolution 1441. The European Council expressed its sympathy for, and solidarity with, the populations affected by the Prestige oil tanker accident off the north-west coast of Spain. The Commission will examine the need for further economic, social and environmental measures.
In the margins of the meeting, I had contacts with Prime Minister Aznar of Spain and raised our concerns in relation to fisheries. I informed the Prime Minister of the difficulties that the Irish fishing industry would face if access to the Irish Box was opened up, especially in the context of declining fish stocks. I indicated that a thorough review of the existing arrangements during next year would allow time for all the issues to be fully aired and for us to arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution. I also communicated the importance of the issue to the President of the Commission, Romano Prodi, and the President of the European Council, Prime Minister Rasmussen.
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, is attending the ongoing Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels today. The Minister has the full support of the Government in his efforts to achieve the best possible outcome for Ireland's interests.
Last weekend's European Council marked a further episode in the wonderful adventure of the European Union. It proved, once again, that Europe can meet and deal with the challenges of an ever-changing global environment. It proved, once again, that Europe can craft win-win solutions to the problems it faces. It proved, once again, that Europe can reach compromises which respect the vital national interests of its member states while advancing the political, economic and social interests of all of them. Above all, it showed, once again, that Europe works and that Ireland's place is at the heart of the European Union.