Vol. 457 No. 2
16 Mr. R. Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the agreed perspective taken at the recent Majorca EU Summit meeting with regard to the enlargement of the EU; and the enlargement timetable agreed at the meeting. [14845/95]
As the Taoiseach made clear in his statement to the House on 28 September, the meeting of EU Heads of State or Government which took place in Majorca on 22 and 23 September was an informal meeting. It was not a meeting of the European Council and Foreign Ministers were not present.
No specific decisions were taken or conclusions adopted at Majorca.
In his statement to the House on 28 September the Taoiseach also set out, against the background of the Majorca meeting, the general Irish approach to future enlargement and made it clear that the timescale foreseen by the European Council meetings in Corfu and Essen with regard to enlargement negotiations remains unaltered. In this regard the Deputy will recall that the Corfu and Essen European Council conclusions refer to the need to create the institutional conditions for ensuring the proper functioning of the Union at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference, which for that reason must take place before accession negotiations begin.
I welcome the informal meeting which took place in Majorca but may I ask the Tánaiste about the need to reassure the Russian Federation that its interests will be protected and not jeopardised by enlargement of the European Union?
The European Union, both at Foreign Minister and Heads of State level, is conscious of the necessity of maintaining good relations with the Russian Federation. In fact, I participated in discussions with Foreign Minister Kosyrev when I was at the United Nations in New York recently and that necessity was reinforced. All the negotiations with the central and East European countries will have that in mind. As the Deputy knows, we have signed the economic agreement with the Russian Federation and there are prospects for developing that relationship. Obviously we do not want to create new divisions in Europe in terms of the future of the European Union or indeed the relationship with the Russian Federation and I believe there are prospects for enhancing that relationship in the years ahead.
Did the Tánaiste raise the question of the concern of the Irish people about the ongoing French nuclear tests in the South Pacific at the Majorca Summit? If so, was there any satisfactory response from the French in relation to cancelling the remaining tests?
The Deputy is aware that I raised the matter of the French nuclear tests at every available opportunity from Cannes to the more recent meeting at Santander. The Taoiseach also raised it at his meeting. The matter will continue to be raised to express the genuine and deep-rooted concerns of the Irish people which I share.
