Chairman, members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you most sincerely for the opportunity to address the Joint Committee on European Affairs. Information about Europe is essential. This committee plays an important role not only in informing the public and fostering debate on European issues, but in reinforcing the influence of the Houses of the Oireachtas on the EU development policy and legislative process.
Before setting out the priorities of the French Presidency, I will say a few words about the Lisbon Treaty. The French Presidency comes at a significant time for the European Union. We have taken note of the Irish vote on 12 June and we respect it. We regret that the people of Ireland did not share our analysis of the advances in the Lisbon Treaty, but that is the way it is. Our recent experience in France leads us to particularly understand and appreciate the current situation.
The European Council of 19 and 20 June took note of the results of the Irish referendum and indicated that 19 member states had ratified the Lisbon treaty and that the ratification process was still ongoing in other member states. The Taoiseach expressed the wish to be given time so that Ireland can organise a debate on the outcome of this negative vote. We all understand this request.
What is the situation today? We have to make a few observations. The treaty has not been ratified by all signatories. It is not in legal force but it exists. Member states in which the ratification process is ongoing have announced their intention to continue with this process. As the Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, said, this referendum does not mean that Ireland wants to turn its back on the European Union.
What can we do? We must listen, understand and analyse. This is why the President of the republic will come to Dublin on 11 July, to listen to the Taoiseach, to take the time to analyse and debate and not to rush things. When we have achieved better visibility, we will together envisage the options offered to us. This is the meaning of the agenda set for the European Council in October.
Until then, we must take account of the message sent by the Irish people which corresponds to the one expressed in 2005 by the French and the Dutch. We are all aware of this message. Europe must respond better to the concerns of citizens, beyond information and pedagogy. Europe must be able to react to restore the confidence of Europeans and provide concrete answers to concrete problems, on climate change, energy security, immigration, food safety and on the best way to protect Europeans in an uncertain world.
These challenges are on the agenda of the French Presidency. At the moment, the best response we can give to the current institutional difficulty is to show that, notwithstanding this difficulty, Europe continues to work and make progress.
Concerning the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister have set four main priorities for the second half of 2008.
The first one concerns the energy/climate package and EU energy policy. The French Presidency's ambition, determined by the conclusions of the last European Council meeting in March, is to reach, at least, a political agreement at the Council on the entire package this year and, if possible, at the first reading in the European Parliament. This is a key element of the exemplary nature we want to set for Europe to strengthen its driving role in the international climate negotiations in the run-up to the Copenhagen conference in 2009. In addition to the energy/climate package, the French Presidency will make energy security proposals concerning both the European Union and its relations with major partners, especially Russia.
The second priority concerns migration. Europe is subject to substantial demographic and economic pressures. This raises the necessity to better co-ordinate the actions of member states and ensure their consistency with policies of the European Union as a whole. We need to see how far we can improve harmonising and sharing our policies on asylum applications, the reception and integration of asylum seekers as well as concrete actions both to combat illegal immigration and foster development in countries of origin. This is why the future French Presidency would like to see political commitments made in the form of a European pact of immigration and asylum to be adopted by the European Council, in full consideration of the legislative agenda and the Commission's recent communications. We are aware of the importance of the issues surrounding the area of freedom, security and justice. It is a major political consequence for Europe to have common principles governing the response to growing migratory pressures. We are, therefore, paying particular attention to the other member states' concerns and suggestions regarding this pact, in view of the next Justice and Home Affairs informal meeting in Cannes where the draft will be officially tabled.
The third priority concerns European security and defence. We should not enter theoretical debates or aim at achieving grandiose but unrealistic objectives. The idea is to reinforce, in a concrete and pragmatic way, the operational capacities of Europeans to be in a position to better act together when we decide to do so, as we did with EUFOR, a European operation led by an Irish general. Besides, Europe — which is a major industrial, agricultural, economic and financial power — is not the global player it should be in the world today. In keeping with the conclusions of the European Council meeting of December 2007, the European security strategy should be updated to take account of EU enlargement since 2003 and new concerns such as food security, energy security, non-proliferation and cyberdefence. The increase in the number of crises also calls for Europeans to step up their military and civil capabilities to contribute, in particular, to humanitarian missions under the aegis of the United Nations. The lessons learned from the ESDP operations show that, despite the work already done to develop these capacities, member states need to do more in this area.
The fourth priority will cover the Common Agricultural Policy. First of all, the CAP health check is a particularly topical subject since the Commission published its proposals. We hope to complete this task during the French Presidency with a view to implementing the revised acts by 2009. Beyond that, we would like the Europeans to agree on several major principles for the future of the CAP, because Europe needs a strong and lively agriculture. We would like to see consensus emerge among the 27 member states on several key objectives for the future. These are to ensure the food security of Europeans, to take part in the world food balance, to participate in the fight against climate change and to ensure the balance of territories. Let me be clear. This should not be the launching of a new discussion about the CAP budget, which should be premature before 2013.
I obviously cannot cover all the issues at this point and, if committee members have no objection, I would like to leave as much time as possible for their questions. In what has been a stormy environment for the financial markets since last summer, our ambition will be to make progress with the principles of transparency and the responsibility of financial players. We will also pay close attention to building the competitiveness of the European economy and especially its SMEs. This is precisely the purpose of the proposals recently made by the Commission in its small business Act.
Another core policy for France will be to boost the social dimension of EU action, our research policy and the cultural dimension of Europe. We would like to take concrete initiatives to mobilise the energy of Europeans, for example, to fight Alzheimer's disease or to foster the mobility of young people, including trainees. I would also mention the Mediterranean co-operation that France wishes to deepen, along with the Commission and the other member states, to give it fresh momentum. In keeping with the conclusions of the last European Council meeting, France will hold a union for the Mediterranean summit on 13 July with a view to developing concrete regional projects involving the member states and the southern Mediterranean countries on a voluntary basis.
The French Presidency intends to uphold the continuity of the successive Presidencies' work. The Slovenian Presidency of the Council, with its noteworthy diligence and high quality, has co-ordinated with our Presidency on a good number of subjects. In addition, as is now customary, France, the Czech Republic and Sweden have established a trio programme to structure the Council's work over an 18 month period and ensure its consistency through the institutional reshuffle. This document sets out the combined programme of the French, Czech and Swedish Presidencies covering the period from July 2008 to December 2009. The three Presidencies will work closely with each other with a view to achieving the objectives set out in the programme. To this end they will also co-operate with the other institutions of the European Union, in particular with the Commission and the European Parliament, on the basis of their respective competences. Thank you very much.