The Taoiseach and I attended the European Council meeting in Brussels on 16 to 17 October 2003. We were accompanied by the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for European Affairs, Deputy Roche. The conclusions of the European Council have been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Our meeting last week allowed the Heads of State or Government of the European Union to: take stock of developments in the Intergovernmental Conference; review trends in the European economy and appoint a new Governor of the European Central Bank; take steps to ensure that our borders are not exploited by traffickers; and review a range of external relations issues.
I thank the Italian Presidency for organising a successful meeting. I am happy to say that the ground work being laid by the Presidency will enable us to further advance the agenda of the European Union. A meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference preceded the European Council meeting proper and I will deal with that issue first.
The Intergovernmental Conference flows from the work of the European Convention. On 15 October this House had a first debate on the draft constitutional treaty produced by the European Convention, therefore I will not go over that ground on this occasion. I welcome the opportunity to bring Deputies up to date on what is happening in the Intergovernmental Conference. I emphasise the Government's commitment to keeping this House and the general public informed of developments in the Intergovernmental Conference.
We are at a relatively early stage in the Intergovernmental Conference deliberations. Last week's meeting at the level of Heads of State or Government was the first at that level since the opening of the Intergovernmental Conference on 4 October. In addition, there have been two meetings of the Intergovernmental Conference at Foreign Minister level. Ireland supports the ambition of the Italian Presidency to complete negotiations by the end of the year. We will of course be prepared to take over and advance any work that may fall to us from January onwards.
Last week's discussion focused on institutional issues. The topics covered included the Commission, the European Council, the Presidency, qualified majority voting and the European Parliament. Member states set out known positions on these issues. There was also an informal discussion by Heads of State or Government on the defence provisions of the draft constitutional treaty.
The future composition of the Commission was a main topic of discussion. It is clear that there is a range of views on this matter. Ireland and a number of other countries indicated general satisfaction with the European Convention outcome, subject to some clarification. Ireland would welcome a move to one Commissioner per member state if this can be achieved on the basis of strict equality. Several participants, in particular the accession countries, supported one Commissioner per member state. Five of the larger member states and the Benelux countries indicated support for the Convention outcome. The retention of guaranteed equality in the appointment of the Commission remains of fundamental importance to Ireland and several other smaller states.
It is now generally accepted that a post of European Council President will be created. The issue is how the role will be defined and how the individual appointed to the post will make it work in practice. Ireland believes that the current text is broadly balanced. There is also more work to be done on how a Presidency will be organised in the future in the various Council formations, with significant support for team presidencies.
The definition of qualified majority voting remains a difficult issue. At the Intergovernmental Conference the known positions of those seeking to change the Convention outcome were reiterated. Ireland's point of view is that we would be happy to keep to the arrangements agreed at Nice, but we can also support the Convention outcome. The minimum number of seats allocated in the European Parliament is an issue of particular concern to the smallest members of the Intergovernmental Conference and Ireland is sympathetic to their concerns.
It is generally accepted at this stage that there will be a European Union "double-hatted" Foreign Minister who will be a member of the Council and of the Commission. The details remain to be worked out. We did not expect an outcome last week that would resolve differences on these institutional issues. Institutional arrangements tend to be, understandably, the most intractable part of Intergovernmental Conference negotiations with agreement often only emerging towards the end. However, the session was useful in further clarifying positions. Consensus in favour of continuing to legislate in the Council's sectoral formats rather than in a single legislative Council, as proposed by the Convention, has been reached.
The Presidency has signalled its intention to conduct consultations across a range of issues with participants before the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference at Heads of State or Government level. In this regard, an additional meeting in November of the Intergovernmental Conference at this level has not been ruled out. At that stage the possible lines for agreement may begin to emerge. Further meetings at Foreign Minister level are scheduled. Perhaps of most significance from our meeting last week was the outcome of the informal discussions among Heads of State or Government on security and defence issues, an area of particular sensitivity for everyone. Together with a number of partners we made clear our view that the proposals on security and defence in the draft treaty required further consideration by the Intergovernmental Conference and this was generally accepted.
As I have stated in the House previously we wish to see the Union equipped to make an effective contribution on the international stage while respecting the values and traditions of the member states. Existing arrangements in the ESDP are based on openness, inclusivity and accountability to all member states. We firmly believe that this should be the case for any new arrangements in the security and defence area. A large number of member states share these concerns as was clear from the discussions in Brussels last week. As regards common defence, our position is very clear: we cannot participate in an EU common defence unless the people decide so in a referendum. The Intergovernmental Conference will return to these important issues in detail next month and the Presidency has undertaken to redraft the defence articles in the draft constitutional treaty in light of the points made at the dinner discussion on 16 October.
The European Council meeting which followed the Intergovernmental Conference concentrated on three areas – the European economy, justice and home affairs and external relations. On the economy, the European Council noted that after a period of some uncertainty, there are some positive signals emerging in Europe. An improvement in the international economic environment, low levels of inflation, stabilised oil prices and better conditions in the financial markets have been key factors behind a pick-up in economic activity. However, the situation remains fragile and in this context economic polices should continue to be aimed at job creation and sustainable growth and at enhancing economic and social cohesion. The European Council focused, in particular, on ways of stimulating growth by increasing investment in transport, energy and telecommunications networks and by underlining the need for further structural reform. I welcome its focus on re-launching the European economy. Action to boost growth will create more job opportunities and bring greater prosperity to the people of Europe. I also welcome, in this regard, the European Council's endorsement of the principles of the growth initiative which seeks to increase investment by improving the mechan isms for financing growth-related projects. This initiative aims to exploit the resources of the European Investment Bank more effectively, both to increase the funding available for growth related projects and to leverage greater private funding of infrastructure.
The European Council recognises that building modern, efficient transport infrastructures is critical to boosting growth and maximising the potential of the internal market. It recommended, in this regard, that particular attention should be given to proposals on priority projects for trans-European transport networks. In this context the Council suggested that the possibility of a higher rate of Community co-financing of such networks might be explored.
The European Council also considers that the completion of an integrated market for electricity and gas in an enlarged Europe would give a vital impetus to growth through ensuring security of supply and promoting competitiveness. Equally, it views the development of telecommunications networks as being of key importance in promoting growth and, in this regard, considered the availability and promotion of a broadband network to be particularly necessary for the European knowledge-based economy. Viewing innovation, research and development and investment in human capital as crucial to Europe's growth potential, it reaffirmed the importance of action to mobilise investment and put the right regulatory conditions in place.
The European Council's focus on growth was complemented by its corresponding recognition of the importance of building a more competitive European economy. It reiterated the need to eliminate remaining barriers to the completion of the internal market, particularly in the area of services, which now account for 70% of the growth in the EU economy and in job opportunities. Completion of the internal market for services will also be an important issue for our Presidency. It was also recognised that further action to enhance environmental protection and sustainability will contribute to growth.
The European Council reiterated that action to stimulate growth and boost competitiveness needed to be accompanied by effective social policies and a continuing focus on job creation. It made particular reference, in this regard, to the demographic challenge currently faced by the European Union and the need to secure the long-term sustainability of pension systems. While the formulation of policy on pensions remains the responsibility of member states, the European Council considered that certain benefits could accrue from reinforcing open co-ordination in this area.
The issue of growth will be reviewed and concrete proposals advanced within the context of the annual review of the Lisbon strategy at the Spring European Council during our Presidency next March. The Lisbon strategy aims to make the European Union the most competitive econ omy in the world by 2010. The current challenge is to maintain the pace of sometimes deep-rooted reform across a wide ranging agenda encompassing economic, social and environmental renewal.
The Irish Presidency will have the task of bringing greater coherence to this broad-based set of issues at the Spring European Council and of ensuring the smooth integration of the new member states into this process. Our key priority will be to develop an economic climate conducive to sustainable growth and to the creation of high quality employment in the interests of promoting greater social cohesion throughout Europe. Successful implementation of key aspects of the Lisbon strategy will bring concrete benefits to the people of Europe in terms of better services, more prosperity and greater opportunities for business expansion. We are conscious that the decisions we take over the next year will be fundamentally important to Europe's economic future.
The European Council in Brussels last week also addressed the need to effectively manage the European Union's common borders, with a view to enhancing the fight against illegal immigration and the trafficking of human beings. The European Union is committed to the reception and integration of legal immigrants. In this regard, the European Council noted proposals for the creation of a border management agency and the development of a re-admission policy. In addition, the Commission has initiated a study on the relationship between legal and illegal immigration and member states were invited to co-operate fully with this study.
In the area of external relations the European Council addressed a broad range of issues, including Iraq, the Middle East and the WTO. It welcomed the unanimous adoption of United Nations Resolution 1511 on 16 October in regard to Iraq. The conclusions set out the ingredients for a successful outcome in Iraq, which are: An adequate security environment; a strong and vital role for the United Nations; a realistic schedule for handing over political responsibility to the Iraqi people; and, the setting up of a transparent multilateral donor fund to channel support from the international community.
The High Representative, Javier Solana, and the Commission have been asked to elaborate a medium-term strategy for the European Union's relations with Iraq. They will report by next March and, as we hold the Presidency, we will have the role of advancing work in this area. The Council reiterated its commitment to the road map for the Middle East. It strongly condemned suicide and terrorist attacks and called on Israel to abstain from punitive measures including extra-judicial killings.
The European Council regretted the unsuccessful outcome of the World Trade Organisation talks in Cancun. However, it stressed the European Union's continuing commitment to multilat eralism and to an early resumption of the Doha Development talks.
Following the European Council meeting, I accompanied the Taoiseach to a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker. Discussions covered a range of issues on the European Union agenda including Ireland's Presidency priorities.