Written Answers. - Intergovernmental Conference.
Paul Nicholas Gogarty
Ceist:
11
Mr. Gogarty
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the issues still outstanding at the Intergovernmental Conference; if these will be resolved by the December 2003 summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[26774/03]
Enda Kenny
Ceist:
12
Mr. Kenny
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
if the current Intergovernmental Conference will complete its work before the end of 2003; and if he will provide an update on the Intergovernmental Conference.
[26805/03]
Eamon Ryan
Ceist:
65
Mr. Eamon Ryan
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
if he has difficulties with regard to the passerelle provisions in the EU constitution, article 24.4; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[26775/03]
Dan Boyle
Ceist:
93
Mr. Boyle
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
his views on the proposed changes suggested by the European Council of Finance Ministers to the draft constitution for the European Union.
[25715/03]
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Ceist:
100
Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the progress made to date by the Intergovernmental Conference; if the negotiations on a new draft EU treaty are expected to conclude during the Irish Presidency of the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[26714/03]
John Bruton
Ceist:
140
Mr. J. Bruton
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
if he will report on progress at the Intergovernmental Conference on the EU constitutional treaty; the proposals the Government has made for changes to the convention draft; and his views on perceived alignments of small as against large states in the Intergovernmental Conference negotiations.
[26929/03]
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:
149
Mr. Durkan
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
his plans to hold a further referendum on Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27059/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 12, 65, 93, 100, 140 and 149 together.
The Intergovernmental Conference began its work in Rome on 4 October and there have now been two meetings at Head of State or Government level and three meetings at ministerial level. It is, as yet, too early to predict whether the Intergovernmental Conference will conclude its work in December, although this is clearly the strong preference of the Presidency. The Government has made clear its support for this approach and has said that it will do what it can to help meet the December deadline. If, however, the work of the Intergovernmental Conference is not finished we will be pleased to take it forward during the Irish Presidency.
Institutional matters discussed in the Intergovernmental Conference so far include the future of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the composition of the Commission and the role of the Union Foreign Minister. The future scope of qualified majority voting and a range of non-institutional issues have also been discussed on the basis of submissions made to the Presidency. There has also been an initial discussion of defence matters.
The Taoiseach met Prime Minister Berlusconi yesterday. The Intergovernmental Conference is scheduled to meet again at ministerial level next Tuesday, when the issues for discussion will include the role of the Foreign Minister and part IV of the draft constitutional treaty. There will then be a further two day conclave of Foreign Ministers at the end of this month to prepare for the December summit meeting.
In our submissions and in debate at the Intergovernmental Conference, the Government has made clear that we have concerns in the areas of taxation, justice and defence. We have said that we wish to retain unanimity for tax matters; that arrangements in the justice area must be such as to protect the distinctiveness of member states' different legal traditions; and that activity in the area of defence must continue to be inclusive and accountable and that Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality must be fully protected.
We have also raised a range of other issues where we think that further work is required. These include the passerelle, or bridging clause, where, in addition to the substantive issues raised, there are also technical issues to be considered. We have continued to take a pragmatic approach on institutional question but have indicated that we can support improvements to the Convention text where these can be agreed. We have also expressed our general support for the consensus reached by Finance Ministers in the ECOFIN Council on issues relating to their area of work.
There is no divide in the Intergovernmental Conference between the large states, on the one hand, and the small states, on the other. As is always the case within the Union, there are different alliances on different issues. For example, there are institutional issues where Ireland shares the strong wish of most of the small and medium sized countries to protect the equality of member states. In other areas, our views are shared with different groups of countries, large and small. Once the Intergovernmental Conference has concluded its work, it will be for each member state to ratify the new treaty according its own constitutional requirements. Some, like Ireland, are expected to hold referendums.
Question No. 13 answered with Question No. 10.
