Enda Kenny
Question:3 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the bilateral meetings he held during his attendance at the EU summit in Copenhagen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26323/02]
Ceisteanna – Questions. - EU Summits.
Enda Kenny
Question:4 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach if the arrangements have been finalised for his forthcoming meeting with the President of the Convention on the Future of Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26585/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
I refer Deputies to my statement in the House yesterday evening when I reported extensively on the proceedings of the Copenhagen European Council, including bilateral meetings held during the Council.
As I said, I took the opportunity on my arrival in Copenhagen on Thursday last to contact Prime Minister Aznar of Spain to raise 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 2003 would allow time for all the issues to be fully aired and for us to arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution. I also contacted Commission President Prodi and Prime Minister Rasmussen on this issue.
It is expected that the President of the Convention on the Future of Europe, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, will visit Dublin in the new year. No date has yet been fixed for the visit.
As Deputies are aware, a number of questions to the Taoiseach on the summit were ruled out of order because they anticipated yesterday's statements and questions to the Taoiseach. These two questions were allowed on the basis that they were outside those statements and the questions. Deputies should keep that in mind.
Is the Taoiseach confident existing arrangements in respect of fishing will apply through next year which will give some breathing space and a lifeline to the 25,000 families in the coastal communities for whom fishing is their only livelihood? Did the Taoiseach have a meeting on the margins of the summit with Prime Minister Blair to discuss the peace process? When the president of the Convention on the Future of Europe comes to Ireland in the new year, will the Taoiseach extend an invitation to him to address this House since he took the opportunity to address the French National Assembly recently?
The first part of that question was dealt with in the statements yesterday.
In regard to the fisheries issue, difficult negotiations are taking place and it looks as if they have adjourned at the moment and that bilaterals are taking place. The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources is endeavouring to reach an understanding with the Spanish. As I explained on Question Time last week, the legal service secretariat has made a judgment, which cannot be changed and which is not helpful from our point of view. If we could reach an understanding with the Spanish on how this will work out next year, it would be helpful. The negotiations, as Deputy Coveney stated yesterday, involve a number of distinct but linked proposals from the Commission to eliminate the Irish box restrictions, reduce quotas by 80%, limit fishermen's days at sea, reduce the size of fleets and address a number of other issues.
We will be isolated on proposals in some areas while in others, hopefully, we will reach agreement to achieve a balanced package of quotas. The Presidency is endeavouring to address an enormous number of complex issues in one go in this set of negotiations. Whether that is achieved is very much up in the air. We must try to negotiate as best we can in the interests of the fishing industry. I agree with Deputy Kenny that we must achieve a viable package for fishing families, who are under pressure.
The up-to-date position is that nothing has been agreed yet. The negotiations will probably go through tonight and tomorrow night into Friday and an agreement may not even be reached, although the Fisheries Council usually secures agreement following a protracted period.
Did the Taoiseach have an opportunity to meet the British Prime Minister on the margins of the summit to discuss Northern Ireland issues, including the possibility of holding elections in May? What discussions did they have on the way forward?
Deputy Kenny also asked that question and I apologise for not taking it up. We did not have a formal meeting because we have had a great deal of contact over the past week or two. We have been trying to at least reach a negotiating position by this Friday that we can use in the new year with the parties to get into an intensive round of negotiations. Our officials have been meeting on a regular basis over recent weeks to get to that position. We will succeed in doing that by Friday, which is our plan.
Early in the new year, we will commence an intensive round of discussions with the parties both in the ongoing round table process and bilaterally with the two Governments, perhaps, meeting them individually as well to see if we can move things forward. Our view is that we have until the end of February to reach a conclusion because if the Assembly had not collapsed and been suspended, it would have dissolved on 20 March to make way for the May elections. The Government and most of the parties are strongly of the view that arrangement must hold.
There will be major difficulties if the elections are postponed. The Government will endeavour to reach agreement with the British Government. At this stage the British Government agrees with that position but I can see where pressure could come on it to change its position and I hope it does not. I have an understanding at this stage that, all things being equal, there will be no change and we will try to conclude the negotiations by the end of February and hold elections in May.
Yesterday the Taoiseach described the Copenhagen summit as "truly historic". Did he have an opportunity openly at the summit to discuss what is historic for the nuclear industry or on the sidelines with the British Prime Minister, particularly in terms of Sellafield, or anybody else? The industry views the enlargement process as a boost to its activities given the large number of nuclear reactors in eastern European countries.
The convention on the future of Europe is probably even more historic. In advance of his meeting with the president of the convention, will the Taoiseach facilitate a briefing of the other participants in the convention, including Deputy Gormley of my party, to give them a further opportunity to understand what is the Government position on the convention so that the different participants can try to co-operate more in pursuing Ireland's interests?
On the latter question, the Minister for Foreign Affairs had an informal discussion with Deputy Gormley last week. The Minister had made his senior official available to give a briefing on meetings attended by himself or the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Roche. We are glad to do so. That arrangement may be informal currently and perhaps it will become more formal as more sessions are held.
Deputy Kenny also asked about Valery Giscard d'Estaing. He probably addressed the French assembly because of his status and position, from which I would not like to take. It would probably be more appropriate if he addressed the forum rather than the House because there are long-standing precedents regarding who can address the House, which should not be broken. It would be useful to ask him to address the forum in public session and perhaps it could be televised as a matter of public interest so that everybody could hear what he has to say. The Ceann Comhairle might help us to organise that.
I did not have detailed discussions last week because the European Council was engaged in intensive one-to-one negotiations with the applicant countries and the meeting was centred on enlargement. We, therefore, did not discuss the nuclear issue or other issues. However, I take a different interpretation of the position on nuclear issues than Deputy Sargent. The feeling of the European Council now compared to even five years ago on nuclear issues has changed.
Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, has taken a different view. He has announced the decommissioning of nuclear reactors and the European Union has contributed money towards that, while a number of other countries have come on board. Even statements about the nuclear industry are very different from those that were made five years ago. The Deputy will be pleased at the attitude that has been adopted. The Germans are pressing hard on this issue. Gerhard Schröder's political agenda is not only to help eastern Europe financially, as he is doing in a major way, but to use that as a quid pro quo for the de-escalation of the nuclear industry. All Members who have taken a line on the nuclear industry will be supportive of what is happening at the European Council.
I mentioned yesterday that the Danish Foreign Minister indicated he had been contacted by the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, about the US view that there was an urgency to admit Turkey to the EU. He also stated that President Bush had contacted Prime Minister Rasmussen on two occasions. Has the Government been contacted by the US in respect of the same matter?
It is increasingly likely that the US will take action against Iraq. If that happens unilaterally outside the UN mandate during the Christmas recess, will the Taoiseach recall the House so that our views can be passed on to Ireland's representative on the UN Security Council? Were there any other discussions of this matter among the heads of State at Copenhagen? Former US President Jimmy Carter described it as having possibly catastrophic consequences.
We have gone well beyond the scope of the questions.
Not for the first time.
In relation to the second issue, there were no particular discussions. We will finish with the Security Council on 31 December and after that we will have to see what happens; we will not have the same day to day involvement.
Regarding the Deputy's first question, I did not have any direct contact with the United States but the matter was raised in various forms with our Government and others. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that the matter of Turkish accession was raised with him by the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, on 25 November. Mr. Powell encouraged Ireland and other member states to reach agreement at the Copenhagen summit on a starting date for negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU. The Minister explained to Mr. Powell that the EU had established certain criteria, known as the Copenhagen criteria, which had to be met by any State seeking accession to the EU before accession negotiations could begin. The Minister also stated that Ireland would be as helpful as possible regarding Turkey's desire to begin accession negotiations subject to certain criteria being met. Mr. Powell also wrote to the Minister setting out his Government's position on the matter prior to the European Council so contacts were coming from all quarters.
My view is that too much pressure was exerted from too many quarters on the day and it backfired. The discussion, as Deputy Kenny will know from meeting the party leaders in his grouping, dealt more with how many people were contacted rather than the issue at hand. That is the stage the process has reached but the lobbying was counterproductive.
I thank the Taoiseach for his reply on Northern Ireland. Will he clarify what will happen on Friday? Will there be a joint statement from the two Governments on an agreed negotiating position? Also, when does he expect the intensive round of meetings with the key parties to begin?
It is with deep concern we hear that the Government's position is that the European Commission's decision on the Irish Box is a judgment that cannot be changed. That was not the Minister's position at the joint committee. It is also worrying to hear furthermore that we are now looking to reach an understanding with the Spanish. Part of that understanding – and our negotiating position – is to join the Spanish and other Mediterranean nations in watering down the conservation measures proposed by the Commission. Given that we do not have a legal leg to stand on, would we not be better to change our negotiating position in favour of the conservation of stocks and try to steer conservation measures in such a way as to favour our smaller fleet? Would it not be better to follow that line?
Regarding Deputy McManus's question on Northern Ireland, our position is that we want to finalise our work. That is our negotiating position with the parties; we would not be putting that into the public domain but it is really a matter of coming to an agreement ourselves on where we will go. Talks will start with the parties very soon after Christmas. We have done some preliminary work on our position papers so it is not that there is anything extraordinary in there but rather we are dealing with what has come up in our bilateral discussions. We have met all the parties individually and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State, Mr. Murphy, have chaired round table talks. We want to take that forward and agree all aspects ourselves. We have reached that point. We want to see how far we can go and once we get that done the way is open to get into intensive discussions early in the new year. Those discussions will be difficult. As the Deputy knows, the sides are quite far apart in the round table meetings and some recent public statements have not brought them any closer.
Regarding Deputy Ryan's question, it is not a matter of us changing our position. We cannot change the advice of the Council's legal secretariat, even though we disagree fundamentally with that advice. Our position on the issue with the Spanish is that even if that is the legal position – that there is a change – rather than that coming into effect immediately the Irish and Spanish should be able to negotiate how it would operate next year and come to an understanding with them. That is only one issue. The Council is also seeking to conclude an agreement on the 20 year review of the Common Fisheries Policy and to agree total allowable catches and quotas which involve reductions of up to 80%. It also wants to agree a new system of limiting fishermen's days at sea, which would reduce the size of fishing fleets dramatically.
We are in favour of the conservation methods but Deputy Ryan will agree that it is an extraordinary position for the Commission on one side to say it wants conservation mechanisms implemented while its own actions let hundreds of extra Spanish boats into the Irish Box. We do not accept that position and we will go along with the conservation methods. If we agree to a small reduction and let in the Spanish fleet we will create major difficulties. That is the point we will have to thrash out between now and Friday.