Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 1 Jun 1994

Vol. 443 No. 5

Written Answers. - Voting Rights in EU.

Pat Rabbitte

Ceist:

54 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs in regard to the Taoiseach's speech at the dinner of the Institute of European Affairs on 14 April 1994, the proposals, if any, the Government intends to put forward regarding altered voting rights and other institutional changes in an enlarged European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

The Taoiseach's speech to the Institute of European Affairs referred to possible future institutional changes in the European Union which will be considered by the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) of the member states in 1996.

The European Council meeting at Corfu later this month will agree to the establishment of a reflection group of representatives of Foreign Ministers to prepare the agenda for the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference. This group will begin its work in mid 1995 after the completion of a report on the operation of the Maastricht Treaty prepared by the Council together with the Commission and the European Parliament. The report will serve as an input into the work of the Reflection Group.

Among the institutional issues to be considered by the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference are the weighting of votes in the Council and the threshold required for the achievement of a qualified majority; the powers and the future size of the European parliament and the number of members of the Commission.

The Maastricht Treaty is in force for little more than six months and for this reason it would be premature to draw conclusions at this stage as to the detail of future institutional change. However it is clear that the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference will consider a number of institutional issues including qualified majority voting in the Council.

One of the guiding principles governing Ireland's approach to the voting issue at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference which was mentioned by the Taoiseach in his speech to the IEA is the preservation of the balance which has been struck between the large and small member states in the institutions of the Union. This balance, unique among groupings of states, has played a very important part in the development of first, the European Community and now of the European Union.

A Union which continues to operate efficiently is in Ireland's interest. However any adaptations to the institutions which may have to be made in 1996 in the interests of efficiency in an enlarged Union should not in our view call this balance into question.