JOINT COMMITTEE ON EUROPEAN AFFAIRS debate -
Wednesday, 5 Nov 2003

Vol. 1 No. 46

Business of Joint Committee.

Chairman

The delegation is running approximately ten minutes late. Is it agreed that we will deal with the other matters while we are waiting for them? Agreed.

Some correspondence was deferred from last week's meeting due to pressure of time. Item No. 1 concerns correspondence from the German Bundestag regarding a joint declaration on the Intergovernmental Conference on the European Constitution. It is proposed to note that correspondence. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Item No. 2 is a position paper prepared by the Dublin Regional Authority on the future of EU regional policy post-2006. It is proposed to deal with this in the context of a meeting before Christmas. Perhaps this could be tied in with Deputy Harkin's request for a meeting on regional matters. We will look at it in that context.

On the letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, to His Excellency Franco Frattini, the letter is in response to the invitation and document CIG5/03 to submit non-institutional issues Ireland would wish to discuss at the Intergovernmental Conference, including those relating to Part III of the constitution. It is proposed to deal with this in the context of a meeting with the Minister to discuss progress at the Intergovernmental Conference. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Item No. 4 is a letter from Mr. Adrian McDaid in the Department of Foreign Affairs accompanied by a letter of invitation and updated agenda for the interparliamentary conference on weapons of mass destruction on 20 and 21 November 2003. We have submitted two nominations, Deputy Michael Mulcahy and Deputy Barry Andrews. Is that agreed? Agreed. Deputy Andrews will represent the Opposition, following a long family tradition.

Deputy Mulcahy

It reminds me of Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Schröder at the recent summit.

Chairman

Item No. 5, correspondence from the Icelandic Parliament on the Icelandic delegation to EFTA regarding possible meeting dates with the European affairs committee. It is proposed to agree to this request to facilitate a visit on the dates requested, either 12 or 17 December. Is that agreed? Agreed. When we are going to Reykjavik we will have to send two Fine Gael members.

Item No. 5, correspondence from Robin McKay of the Department of Transport regarding the insurance of military aircraft. This note was requested by the chairman at the meeting on 23 April when the committee scrutinised Commission document (2002)521. It is proposed to note this correspondence. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Item No. 7 is the draft agenda for the joint meeting between the European Parliament and the national Parliament organised by the AFCO committee, which will be taken in Brussels tomorrow, and also the draft agenda for an ordinary AFCO meeting which will follow the joint meeting. Deputy Carey, who is our representative on AFCO, will attend that meeting as agreed.

Item No. 8, correspondence received from Bridget Doody, Clerk to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, regarding the proposals from the Joint Committee on European Affairs that the flag of the European Union be displayed in the Dáil and the Seanad Chambers and in the committee rooms during Ireland's Presidency of the EU. This is a response to the committee's report requesting that the European flag be flown at appropriate places during the Presidency. It is proposed to note the correspondence - that they have agreed to our request. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Item No. 9 concerns a letter from Klaus Larsson Jensen, chairman of the European affairs committee of the Danish Parliament. The letter refers to the nomination for the permanent post in the COSAC Secretariat. The Danes are nominating Mr. Morten Knudsen to be the permanent member of the secretariat. It is proposed to agree to this nomination.

Deputy Mulcahy

I am sure this person is very well qualified but can suitably qualified Irish people put forward their names? We have as much right to nominate someone. Perhaps we should write to the Institute of European Affairs, UCD, Trinity College and University of Limerick to see if a suitable candidate can be found.

Chairman

We are in the Troika at which we are represented by an official. If we were to have a second official there we would have to pay for that official. As I understand it, the Danes will have to pay for this official. If we were to recruit somebody from the Institute of European Affairs or somewhere like that they would have to be on the payroll. It appears reasonable——

Deputy Mulcahy

That is different.

Deputy J. O’Keeffe

A most compelling argument.

Chairman

Item No. 10, an invitation to the Chairman to the next plenary session of the Interparliamentary Union and Security and Defence Assembly in Paris on 1 to 3 December. I propose to accept the invitation.

Under any other business, at the last meeting I asked members if anybody would be interested in taking on the responsibility of being rapporteur on Russia following the submission made by Amnesty International and our request to the Russian Ambassador for a meeting. Deputy O'Keeffe has indicated that he would be willing to take on this burden and I propose that Deputy O'Keeffe be the rapporteur. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Mulcahy

I was contacted by Amnesty International yesterday asking that somebody would take up that position because they were anxious that would be the case. We are all delighted Deputy O'Keeffe is taking up the position. He is very well qualified and we wish him well. If there is any input we can make to the report at any stage we will co-operate.

Deputy J. O’Keeffe

I thank Deputy Mulcahy for those comments. I probably need to have my head examined for taking on this job, particularly in the light of the tight timeframe; I understand the report has to be in before Christmas. It is designed to have an influence on our position during the Presidency.

An aspect I should raise concerns the question of the Russian ambassador. There are issues on which I would like clarification from the Russian ambassador. I note he was invited to attend this meeting and I would like to give him every opportunity to either attend a meeting or to meet with me to deal with the serious allegations that have been raised.

Chairman

The ambassador indicated that he would be happy to attend but he needed to consult with Moscow about some of the issues raised. He has indicated that the next date does not suit either. I do not know whether he is having difficulties but in the event that he has a difficulty in attending, and I have no indication that is the case, we might ask that he would meet with the rapporteur or at least give him an opportunity to put his case. We will pursue it along that line. We should try to have a report by the end of the year. There is a rapporteur budget on which the Chairman normally brings forward a proposal to deal with the resources. I intend to bring forward a proposal about that at the next meeting.

It is proposed to have the next meeting of the committee tomorrow at 2.30 p.m. when we will meet with officials of the Department of Finance to discuss the 2004 EU budget. At 9.30 a.m. tomorrow we have our normal meeting of the EU scrutiny committee.

Deputy J. O’Keeffe

When is it expected to have the next meeting of the plenary——

Chairman

The next meeting will be the pre-GAC meeting. The Minister for Foreign Affairs will not be here but the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, will take the meeting at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 12 November.

Deputy J. O’Keeffe

I will be away for that. When is the meeting after that?

Chairman

We have a delegation from Cyprus on 18 November and Ruud Lubbers will attend on 19 November.

Deputy J. O’Keeffe

I am thinking in the context of the Russian ambassador.

Chairman

We could fit him in on 18 November.

Deputy J. O’Keeffe

It is just that I will be away next week.

Chairman

Two sets of minutes were circulated, one for 15 October and one for 29 October. Are they agreed? Agreed. We will return now to the ordinary business of the meeting.

I will suspend the meeting until the delegation is brought in. Members will be aware that the committee agreed the appointment of Ms Catherine Meenan as adviser to the committee. She is with us today and she will meet the members at some point in the future and go through some ideas that we will have to discuss with her by then. She is welcome and I am delighted to see her.

Sitting suspended at 2.31 p.m. and resumed at 2.37 p.m.