Paul Nicholas Gogarty
Ceist:124 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on an EU proposal for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21148/03]
Written Answers. - UN Security Council.
There is no proposal within the European Union for a permanent EU seat on the United Nations Security Council. From time to time, the issue arises in a number of fora, most recently during the deliberations of the Convention on the Future of Europe. However, this idea did not command sufficient support among members of the convention to be included in the draft constitutional treaty.
The draft constitutional treaty does, however, propose the widening of the responsibility of EU member states who are members of the Security Council to "ensure the defence of the position and interests of the Union" to include both non-permanent and permanent members of the Security Council. The current treaty refers only to the permanent members in this regard. The Government supports such a pragmatic approach to defending the European Union's positions and interests at the Security Council and, indeed, in the UN more generally.
In 2001-2002, Ireland was the only European Union member state serving as an elected member of the Security Council. Throughout its term on the Council, Ireland consistently articulated EU positions in the Security Council and took considerable care to ensure that EU partners were fully informed on Security Council issues. In this regard, Ireland initiated the system of structured regular comprehensive briefing of EU partners by EU Security Council members at the United Nations. The Government is gratified that Ireland's approach of active engagement in, and promotion of, European Union positions has been maintained by the EU member states currently serving on the Security Council. In addition, non-members of the Security Council frequently have an opportunity to express their views on issues before the Council in open debates. On such occasions, the Presidency usually speaks on behalf of the European Union.