Ruairí Quinn
Question:8 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on his participation in and the outcome of the summit of EU leaders in Brussels in June 2004. [18823/04]
View answerThursday, 24 June 2004
Questions (9)
Oral answers (30 contributions)
Both the meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference and of the European Council in Brussels on 17 and 18 June were chaired by the Taoiseach, as President of the European Council, and he will make a statement to the House on 30 June.
As the House will be aware, the Intergovernmental Conference reached an agreement on the constitutional treaty. This is both a remarkable achievement for the Irish Presidency and a fundamental advance for the European Union. Following intensive work both in plenary session and in bilateral contacts, we were able to put forward final compromise proposals on the outstanding issues which met the specific concerns of all member states and were thus the subject of consensus. Heads of state and government also held an exchange of views on the appointment of the next President of the European Commission. It is envisaged that a decision on this matter will be taken shortly.
The European Council itself agreed conclusions on a range of important issues, including justice and home affairs, and the fight against terrorism; enlargement; financial perspectives; economic and social issues, employment and environment; the Northern Ireland related peace funds and external relations issues. A copy of the conclusions has been laid before the House. The European Council welcomed the progress achieved in the justice and home affairs agenda and invited the Council and Commission to prepare proposals for the next phase of the process to be considered by the European Council by the end of the year. It also welcomed the report on the implementation of the March European Council declaration on combating terrorism.
The European Council noted with great satisfaction that Bulgaria had provisionally closed all the negotiation chapters and that Romania was substantially closer to achieving the same objective by the end of 2004. It reiterated the European Union's aim to welcome the two countries as members of the Union in January 2007, if they are ready. The Council also welcomed the significant progress made to date by Turkey in the reform process and reaffirmed its commitment that, if the European Council decides in December 2004 on the basis of a report and recommendation from the Commission that Turkey fulfils the Copenhagen criteria, the EU will open accession negotiations with Turkey without delay. It also decided that Croatia is a candidate country for membership of the EU and that the accession negotiations would begin early in 2005.
Regarding the financial perspectives, the European Council took note of the analytical report prepared by the Presidency. The incoming Dutch Presidency has been asked to continue this work. The House will wish to note that the European Council took note of the current difficulties in the Northern Ireland peace process and expressed support for the efforts of the two Governments in seeking to re-establish the devolved institutions. To this end, it called on the Commission to examine the possibility of extending funding for the Peace II programme and the International Fund for Ireland to 2006.
The European Council also adopted conclusions on a number of external relations issues reflecting the Union's engagement with the wider world as well as progress at EU level on a number of targeted priorities of the Irish Presidency. These included a review of the implementation of the European security strategy and the adoption of a medium-term strategy for the EU's relations with Iraq, a strategic partnership with the Mediterranean and the Middle East and the endorsement of the Presidency's progress report on ESDP, including on EU-UN co-operation in crisis management, and a report on EU activities in the framework of conflict prevention.
In the human rights area, EU guidelines on human rights defenders and a strategy for implementation of the EU guidelines on children and armed conflict were adopted. The conclusions also welcomed the Commission's proposals for a European neighbourhood policy and addressed specific situations of concern, including the Middle East peace process, Iran, the situation in Darfur in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, Foreign Ministers, in the margins of the European Council, discussed the EU's relations with Iran, recent developments in the Middle East peace process, the situation in Afghanistan and the China arms embargo.
I congratulate the Minister and his colleagues on the extraordinary achievement in getting the constitution agreed. It is a tribute to successive Irish Presidencies and the personnel in Iveagh House and elsewhere. However, it would not have happened without the political input of the Minister and his colleagues and they deserve, unashamedly and unreservedly, our congratulations.
When does the Minister expect the final text of the revised document of the constitutional treaty to be available? Does the Minister expect, based on the report on and the analysis of the position of Croatia, that Croatia will be in a position to join at the same time as Romania and Bulgaria so the next enlargement will be an enlargement of three? That would be a more felicitous and easier to absorb enlargement than an enlargement of two followed by an enlargement of one at a later time.
I thank the Deputy for his compliments. The constitutional document will be given to the translators to be prepared. It should be available in the next few weeks and the signing should take place before November this year. Ratification usually takes about two years after the signing of the treaty.
With regard to Croatia's application, the own merits principle arises. It will be able to begin its negotiations in 2005 and if it can convince people that it will be ready to join at the same time as Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, that is fine. It is more likely, however, that it will be 2008 at the earliest.
I, too, wish the Minister and his colleagues well and congratulate them on the outcome of the Intergovernmental Conference and the concluding days of the Presidency. The Minister referred to the presidency of the Commission. Is the Taoiseach one of the candidates he mentioned?
The Taoiseach has made his position clear on this matter on a number of occasions.
Could the Minister make it clear to the House? Is the Taoiseach a candidate for the office of President of the European Commission?
Yes or no?
The Taoiseach, as Presidency, is trying to find a consensus among member states which was not available up to last weekend.
Does the Minister intend to take over the presidency of Fianna Fáil in the near future if a vacancy arises?
There is no vacancy.
With regard to the common security and defence policy, is it the aspiration of this Government to become involved in permanent structured co-operation?
In what area?
In defence.
Obviously, these are matters for consideration by any Government at any time.
I call Deputy Ó Snodaigh.
I wish to make a point. I can understand why the Minister might be slightly evasive after the last question.
He is having a bad day.
He may be having a bad day but——
I am having a great day. I just arrived in from the United States this morning to be present in the House.
The Minister might be a little jet lagged but he should try to "jizz" himself up a little and answer our questions.
If the Deputy asks a specific question, I can give a specific answer.
I did that. The Minister gave me a general answer to a specific question.
The Deputy asked me if we will be involved in structural co-operation in defence.
The ambit of defence extends across a range of areas in security and defence policy. Having been a member of the defence group at the European Convention, the Deputy should know the range of activities involved. There are areas consistent with our foreign policy traditions in which we will have no problem participating. We have negotiated a position whereby all these matters are for democratic and sovereign decision by Government at any time. To give the Deputy any other answer would be foolish, given his ability to misrepresent it in the future.
Earlier this week I received a briefing from the Taoiseach's office on the process leading up to the conclusion of the treaty. At that meeting I was advised by senior civil servants that the Irish EU Presidency prevented the Irish delegates from actively negotiating on issues of national importance. They said I should not worry about this because other states raised our issues of concern. Is it not a scandal that it was left to other states to negotiate Ireland's interests throughout the past six months, since the process of agreement on a constitution collapsed during the Italian Presidency? Was it not a fundamental dereliction of the Minister's duty not to ensure that Ireland's interests were robustly defended within the EU during that period? The Irish people were not aware they were unrepresented at the negotiating table.
I assure the Deputy our interests were very well defended. This is a good deal for Ireland and for the Union. There were 30 delegations at the IGC if one includes member states, observers, the European Parliament and the Commission. Each had its list of priority issues and bottom lines. I am sure the House will appreciate that it is not easy to reach consensus in such a context. Negotiations were conducted in a spirit of goodwill and mutual respect and we rose from the table with a deal that protects our interests and that will stand the test of time.
In the autumn the Government identified a number of key issues of concern to us, defence, justice, tax and the balance in the institutions, including equality in the Commission. In the area of defence, we achieved an outcome that respects the different traditions of member states, including those that are neutral. On justice, we achieved an arrangement that enables the Union to act more effectively while allowing every member state to protect the fundamental aspects of its legal system. On tax, unanimity is to be retained. In the area of the institutions, the outcome is balanced and preserves absolute and strict equality in the Commission. It is an excellent outcome for Ireland and for the Union.
The Minister did not answer my question.
I have answered the question exactly. The Deputy's problem is that he does not know how to take it in.
The Minister did not answer my question about whether the delegates represented our views. Were they prevented by the Minister from doing so?
We have exceeded the time allowed for the question. We must move on to Question No. 9.
The Deputy is the only person in Ireland who cannot congratulate the Presidency. Of course, the generosity of his outfit is well known.