I move amendment No. 1:
In page 4, to delete lines 1 to 11 and substitute the following:
"(i) the Protocol amending the Protocol on transitional provisions annexed to the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, done at Brussels on the 23rd day of June 2010,
(ii) the European Council Decision of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro,
(iii) the Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, done at Brussels on the 9th day of December 2011, and
(iv) the Protocol on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, done at Brussels on the 16th day of May 2012.".".
It is the first time I have seen legislation in the European affairs committee. In all my years as a member, I do not think we ever dealt with legislation. It is good, and I am honoured to be here. With the permission of the Chairman and of the select committee, before dealing with amendment No. 1, I will set out briefly the Government's intentions in bringing forward this Bill.
The European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012, by amending the European Communities Act of 1972, provides a means of incorporating a series of developments at European Union level into the domestic law of the State. The first instrument provided for in the Bill is a protocol amending the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. The purpose of this protocol is to increase, on a temporary basis, the number of Members of the European Parliament during the current Parliament's term, 2009-2014. This temporary measure provides 12 member states with the additional MEPs to which they are entitled under the Lisbon treaty, even though the current Parliament was elected prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty. This protocol does not impact on Ireland's number of MEPs.
The second instrument provided for in this Bill is the European Council Decision of March 2011, amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for member states whose currency is the euro. This will provide a legal underpinning to the European Stability Mechanism, ESM, which is to enter into force during the course of next month.
This link between this Bill and the ESM is the reason that this Bill was published on 8 May, in tandem with the European Stability Mechanism Bill 2012. The Government was committed to ensuring that the Irish people had the fullest possible picture available to them, including this Bill, well ahead of voting in the referendum on the stability treaty on 31 May last. At the time of the publication of this Bill early last month, the Protocol on the Concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon had not yet been signed. This protocol was subsequently opened to signature in Brussels on 16 May. Most member states signed on that day, and I am pleased to be able to inform the committee that, as of yesterday, all member states have now done so.
When EU leaders agreed to the terms of the Irish Protocol at the European Council meeting in June 2009, they agreed that, at the time of the conclusion of the next accession treaty, the provisions of the decision on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon would be set out in a protocol to be attached to the EU treaties. Thus, the Irish protocol and the Croatian accession treaty are linked in time.
This amendment will thus include the Croatian accession treaty and the Irish legal guarantees protocol in the definition of the treaties governing the European Union as set out in the European Communities Act 1972, as amended. The effect of the amendment is to provide for the accession of Croatia to the European Union and for the Irish protocol in the domestic law of the State. As the target date for ratification of both instruments is June 2013, the inclusion of the amendment in the Bill will facilitate their timely ratification by Ireland.
The amendment should be warmly welcomed because we will be taking an important step in allowing this country to ratify the Croatian accession treaty in order that Croatia may join the European Union as its 28th member state in the middle of next year. Notwithstanding recent football match results, we are still a strong supporter of Croatia's accession. We are also taking a critical step in allowing Ireland to ratify the protocol on the concerns of the people about the Treaty of Lisbon which was promised by EU leaders in 2009 and is now being delivered in accordance with the timeline envisaged at the time. It is welcome that all 27 member states have signed the instrument and each will now take the necessary steps to ratify it in accordance with their national requirements. Both developments are good for Ireland and the European Union.
The amendment also proposes to replace the existing references in section 1 to the MEPs protocol and the amendment to Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in order that each of the four instruments referred to will follow a consistent pattern. There is no substantive change proposed to the wording on the existing provisions in the Bill.
I am greatly encouraged by the strong cross-party support shown in the Dáil on Second Stage on 6 June. During that extensive debate both the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and I set out in detail the Government's intention to bring forward the amendments which the committee is considering today. This is a relatively short Bill, even taking account of the amendments, but its important nonetheless. I, therefore, commend the amendment to the committee.
