I welcome the members of the delegation from the Committee of European Integration of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, led by its chairman, Mr. Pavel Svoboda, and accompanied by the Czech ambassador, Mr. Petr Kolar. We are very pleased to see the delegation and I welcome it to our Parliament.
Last month, members of this committee met Deputy Prime Minister Svoboda nine days before the referendum on the Nice treaty. At that time I was confident of a positive result but one cannot be certain in politics. Fortunately, for both Ireland and the Czech Republic, there was a successful outcome and Ireland can complete its ratification of the treaty in the near future, thus ensuring that enlargement goes ahead. Ireland was the only member state of the EU to put the treaty to a referendum and we have given the candidate countries a small fright and a very warm welcome. I also congratulate the delegation on the results of the European Council in Brussels. There is now a clear timetable set out for the most ambitious ever enlargement of the European Union. Of course, some issues remain but we can all be confident that, working hard between now and December, negotiations can be concluded at the Copenhagen summit with a view to signature of the accession treaty in Athens next spring.
The Czech Republic has made remarkable progress since it first sat down to formal negotiations in 1998. We can only marvel at the work involved in putting in place the legislation necessary to comply with the acquis and we applaud its efforts. I do not think any of us thought then, or later when the negotiations began for a further six candidates, that we would see the simultaneous accession of ten new member states in 2004. This is something of which we can all be rightly proud.
While we have just come out of an intense referendum campaign you will be heading into one after the accession treaty is signed. I will be interested to hear your assessment of the proposals at this early stage. Perhaps one of the clearest lessons coming out of the two Nice referendum campaigns in Ireland is the extent of the democratic deficit perceived to be here, mirrored I am sure across the Union. Because of the discussions we have had at COSAC we know there is concern about this in all national Parliaments. The campaigns themselves will have served to better inform the public here about the European Union but the end of the campaigns does not mean the end of our work in this regard. There will be future referenda and we have a very important job to do to ensure people know the democratic deficit is being addressed by our Parliament.
In the Oireachtas we are making a particular effort to reduce that deficit. We have put in place new measures for parliamentary oversight of EU business. These measures include the detailed scrutiny of proposals in all three pillars, consultations with members of Government before meetings of the Council of Ministers and general consideration of the full range of EU business. For example, next week we will meet the Minister for Foreign Affairs as part of his preparations for the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 18-19 November. That will be the fifth such meeting since July. Bearing in mind that August is a quiet month, that is a large number of meetings. Working arrangements along these lines were put in place in July and we have just recently put these arrangements on a legislative footing. Until now such provisions have been most notable by their absence but with the new arrangements we are taking a big step in the right direction, especially if they can be made to work. The new arrangements will contribute both to a better understanding in Ireland of EU affairs and allow a better representation of Ireland's interests in the institutions of the Union.
Ireland is already working with the Czech Republic and all the other candidates within the convention. Gistard d'Estaing's study phase started with a bang with the release of his draft outline constitutional treaty. While we all know this is a preliminary draft, it has already prompted considerable debate and discussion beyond the usual europhile circles. That can only be a good thing. This time round we will not make the same mistakes we made before so, hopefully, we can bring the people with us through the process, instead of running ahead.
As one who has been very committed to the European Union - I was director of elections for my party for the Amsterdam treaty, the Maastricht treaty and the Single European Act - I will be looking at the proposals with a very careful eye to ensure what comes out of this convention, and ultimately out of an intergovernmental conference, meets the needs of all member states, large and small. Enormous work remains to be done in the remainder of the life of the convention and on into the Intergovernmental Conference. This is the first time we have managed to generate various public and press interest in the early stages of an Intergovernmental Conference. I will be interested to hear your views on how the convention is going and where you think it is headed. Deputy Pat Carey, who is present, is a member of the convention and is up to date on its proceedings.
Next January will mark 30 years of Ireland's membership of the European Union. Our experience has been largely positive. The story of our economic success, particularly over the past decade is well known. However, beyond that, membership has given us the opportunity to enhance our position on the world stage and to play our part in building a better Europe. We will, of course, be happy to share those experiences with you over the coming months and years.
I am sure all members of the select committee will be glad to hear the progress being made on the construction efforts after the terrible floods during the summer in the Czech Republic, particularly in Prague. I hope the European Solidarity Fund has been of some assistance.
Chairman, I welcome you and your colleagues. Perhaps you would like to make some opening comments and the meeting can then be opened to the members of our committee and your colleagues.
