Vol. 394 No. 8
17 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if he will outline the matters discussed between the Government and the European Commission at their meeting in Dublin on 6 and 7 January 1990; if he will outline any decisions reached or any initiatives agreed upon; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
18 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he will ensure that in the course of the Irish Presidency of the EC, it will be recommended to the EC that a single inter-governmental conference takes place in December 1990 which will combine both the issues for economic and monetary union and improved political decision-making mechanisms; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 18 together.
The matters discussed at the meeting were our Presidency priorities as outlined by me in this House on 8/9 December and as set out in detail in the Irish Presidency programme, copies of which are in the Dáil Library. One of these priorities is that of follow-up on the decisions reached at the Strasbourg European Council on the subject of Economic and Monetary Union and this we will actively pursue in the coming months.
The essential purpose of the meeting, which was the first ever such meeting held under an Irish Presidency, was to enable us to plan and co-ordinate our work programmes with those of the Commission, ensure the fullest degree of co-operation and support from the Commission over the six month period and to establish good personal relationships between Ministers and Commissioners. All of these aims were successfully achieved.
A brief question from the Deputies concerned as the time has come to deal with Priority Questions.
Is the Taoiseach satisfied that he has the full support of the Commission for the programme announced by the Government in relation to the Irish Presidency? In relation to future meetings of the European Council, particularly the meeting that is expected to take place at the end of this year on economic and monetary union, does the Taoiseach expect that a change in the Irish Constitution will be required in order to comply with decisions proposed?
First, the meeting in Dublin was very successful from the point of view of agreeing the agenda for the six months of the Irish Presidency. The Commission expressed itself as being very pleased with the outcome of our work on the programme settled under all the different headings. I can assure the Deputy that we have the full support of the Commission for the programme, it was worked out in conjunction with them.
Second, with regard to the inter-governmental conference on economic and monetary union, it would be impossible to say at this stage what the outcome of the conference may be or what implications it may have for us but I suspect the conference will go on for some considerable time and deal with very many complex and complicated issues. I would be very doubtful that it would involve any constitutional changes here.
Arising out of the Taoiseach's reply may I ask him, in respect of the agenda for the December inter-governmental conference, to indicate if the current Irish Government's position, which hopefully will be recommended by way of a formal Presidency recommendation in June, is to the effect as set out in my question: that the issues of economic and monetary union will be debated side by side with the necessary improved political decision making mechanisms that are required to go hand in hand with them? Is that the position of the Government at present? Is it the position the Irish Presidency will be recommending in June?
I do not know if the preparatory work for the inter-governmental conference will be brought to that stage by June, it is not envisaged that it will. As the Deputy knows, there are three stages involved in economic and monetary union. At this stage the main concentration will be on stage 1 and giving effect to stage 1. There will be some preliminary work done on stages 2 and 3. The Commission will bring forward a paper in April and some work will be done on the basis of that paper but it is not likely that the agenda of the inter-governmental conference will be settled by June. At the moment the elements which may constitute the agenda for the inter-governmental conference are, first, the actual arrangements for economic and monetary union and the institutional arrangements necessary for economic and monetary union. There is some suggestion, as the Deputy probably knows, that the inter-governmental conference should also deal with additional institutional arrangements, but I think that is far from settled yet. I do not think there will be any decisions on that by June. The Dublin Summit may give some indication but it is most unlikely that the agenda for the inter-governmental conference will be settled before well into the Italian Presidency.
I hope the Taoiseach will not let the Irish Presidency be out manoeuvred by the Italian Presidency.
I find it very difficult to know where I should stand on these issues. On the one hand, everybody over there attacks me for making too much of my Presidency and here in this House the Deputy comes along and wants me to be the hero of Europe——
Stop fooling around——
——and I am quite prepared to be that if necessary.
The time has come to deal with questions nominated for priority.
