Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015

Vol. 901 No. 2

Pre-European Council: Statements

The Taoiseach

I welcome the opportunity to address the House in advance of the European Council which will take place tomorrow and Friday. The meeting comes at a testing time for the European Union, with migration continuing to pose serious challenges, the terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere still fresh in our minds and with the debate on Britain's membership of the European Union entering a new and crucial phase. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we work together in solidarity to find and implement solutions to these challenges.

The agenda for the European Council addresses the issues I have mentioned and a number of others. The first item is the ongoing migration and refugee crisis. We will continue the much needed work on shaping and implementing a comprehensive EU approach.

On the EU-UK question, following the letters from Prime Minister Cameron and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, Heads of State and Government will have a substantive discussion on the British proposals. The Council will consider Europe's actions in the fight against terrorism, building on the decisions taken at its February meeting and in the light of the barbaric attacks in Paris in November and other locations such as Mali and Lebanon. In the light of international developments, the situation in Syria and, possibly, Ukraine may also feature.

The European Council will examine a number of economic and financial issues. We will take stock of discussions to date on the five presidents' report on Economic and Monetary Union. We will also consider developments in the Internal Market and, finally, conclusions are expected on energy union and a forward-looking climate policy.

I have asked Deputy Deenihan to address this last, very important item in his wrap-up statement. However, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding French chairmanship of COP 21 and the willingness of all delegations to compromise to reach a remarkable agreement. How the EU fulfils its commitments in detail will be the subject of much work over the coming years and I have set out our determination to secure a deal for Ireland which will be ambitious, sustainable and achievable.

Inevitably, the migration and refugee crisis is and will probably remain the priority issue for the European Union in the period ahead. The tragic human cost of the crisis has saddened and shocked us. Although the latest figures show a dip in recent weeks in the numbers attempting to reach our shores, we know that this does not mean the problem is receding. Ireland has consistently called for an approach which addresses the root causes as well as the humanitarian challenges at the European level. From an EU perspective, there have been important agreements over the past few months on various elements of a multifaceted, comprehensive response to the crisis. While this is encouraging, implementation has been disappointingly slow and much more needs to be done. Many of our colleagues have rightly said that the Schengen system is in danger if control of the Union's external borders is not restored. While Ireland is not a member of Schengen, we acknowledge it as a profoundly important achievement.

This week's European Council will allow us to assess the state of play. I expect discussions to cover the so-called hot spots for processing asylum seekers, which have been established but have not become operational as quickly as planned, and the implementation of the decisions on relocation of asylum seekers within the EU, which, similarly, has been very slow. Delivering on decisions taken is essential to the Union's credibility and we must try to maintain that focus. The need to register people as they arrive, to return those who do not have a legitimate right to enter the EU and to resettle refugees who are often stuck in perilous conditions beyond our borders will also feature and the grave shortcomings of the current situation will be highlighted.

I expect a substantial part of the discussions to focus on the EU relationship with Turkey and the joint action plan and statement agreed at the meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister on 29 November. Turkey plays a geographically and politically central role in the region and is a hugely important partner for the EU. It is a candidate country and is also currently host to more than 2.2 million Syrian refugees. It is vital therefore that we work together with Turkey to address the migration crisis. One step towards this is the EU's commitment to contribute €3 billion to help support Syrian refugees and their host communities in Turkey. Rapid implementation by both sides of all aspects of the action plan will be key, including a sustained and significant reduction in the number of migrants reaching the EU through Turkey. No one is under any illusion that this will be easy but it must be done. A new measure proposed by the Commission yesterday to resettle refugees from Turkey on a voluntary basis would be dependent on Turkey delivering on its commitments. With partners, we will examine this proposal carefully. However, the priority for the Government remains our September commitment to accept 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers under the Commission's earlier resettlement and relocation programmes. We are working to fulfil this as quickly as possible.

The European Council is likely to ask that the other Commission proposals made yesterday be examined urgently. These are on a European border and coastguard, the Schengen borders code and travel documents for failed asylum seekers returning to their places of origin. Ireland does not participate in the Schengen Agreement and so will not take a lead role in those discussions. However, we remain committed to engaging constructively as we have done over the past year, for example, in co-operation with Frontex. The forthcoming Commission review of the Dublin system is also likely to feature, as will the controversial proposal for a permanent relocation mechanism, which we would not be required to opt into.

With regard to Ireland's commitments, our humanitarian search and rescue Naval Service mission in the Mediterranean has now concluded and the LE Samuel Beckett will return to Cork later this week. In total, 8,592 people were saved by the crews of the three vessels concerned and I pay tribute again to their work. I know the House joins me in expressing the pride of the Irish people in what they have achieved and we thank them deeply and sincerely for their service.

In addition to this and our offer to accept up to 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers under the Commission's resettlement and relocation programmes, I recall our significant humanitarian aid which includes €42 million funding by the end of 2015 to support people affected by the Syrian crisis, €3 million to the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa and a doubling of our annual contribution to the World Food Programme, bringing it to €20 million each year for the next three years. We will also make a significant contribution to the new fund which it is envisaged will support Syrian refugees in Turkey.

As I said at the outset, it is vital that the fundamental cause of the crisis - the civil war in Syria - and the savage actions of Daesh are also addressed and I expect that the situation in Syria will feature prominently in discussions.

The United Kingdom's planned referendum on membership of the European Union will also be discussed in what is expected to be the first really substantive collective debate around the table. Our position is well known. We are committed Europeans, we believe in the EU and we believe the UK belongs in our Union. Of all other EU member states, Ireland stands to be affected most significantly by a possible UK departure. Our strong support for continued UK membership of the Union is equally rooted in the belief that UK membership of the EU benefits the entire Union and all its member states. Quite simply, together as 28, we can achieve much more for our citizens.

The European Council discussions will be framed by Prime Minister Cameron's letter of 10 November to President Tusk and President Tusk's letter to all EU leaders of 7 December. Prime Minister Cameron's letter was helpful in confirming the four broad categories in which the UK wants to seek change. It kick-started an intensified round of discussions among EU partners and with the EU institutions. Although President Tusk's letter was generally optimistic about the prospect of an agreement, he did not hesitate to highlight the more difficult areas where effort will be needed from all sides to agree a package that is acceptable to all. In addition, he mapped out a helpful time frame for the discussions themselves which sees us aiming towards agreement in February. We welcome this approach.

As far as the discussions at this European Council and beyond are concerned, Ireland will continue to be constructive and helpful. We completely share the UK's enthusiasm for sustained effort under the competitiveness heading. The issues here are the drivers of long-term prosperity for the citizens of the EU. Under the economic governance and sovereignty headings, although the details of the proposals remain to be clarified, we can see where solutions might lie. In the immigration and free movement area, there is considerable support, including from Ireland, for British proposals in relation to addressing fraud and abuse and changing the way in which child benefit is paid abroad. However, it seems that there is very significant opposition to the Prime Minister's proposal to withdraw in-work benefits from EU workers for a four year period. Prime Minister Cameron believes there is a need for a real political debate among leaders only, during which I am sure he will underscore the political importance of this issue in the UK. He has indicated his openness to considering other proposals that would achieve essentially the same result. I expect there to be a substantive political discussion of this and the detail of the other issues on Thursday with a view to moving towards the elaboration of concrete proposals for consideration at the following European Council. It is well worth taking the time to get the package right and by that I mean to the satisfaction of the UK and all other partners around the table. I very much hope for agreement in February and we will continue to urge all sides to engage fully and not lose sight of the very high stakes involved.

In considering the fight against terrorism, the European Council will review progress since February when an ambitious and necessary programme of criminal justice, law enforcement and border control actions was set out. These discussions come in the wake of the brutal events in Paris last month, acts that were an attack on the very values that we cherish in Europe and in the democratic world. Ireland stands in total solidarity with France and we remain steadfast and united in our determination to counter the threat posed by global terrorism and all forms of radicalism. Critically, the Union has to work to deliver on the measures and priorities already agreed. At the EU Council, therefore, we will build on the work of the Justice Ministers in examining the enhancement of information sharing and looking for early implementation of the recently agreed passenger name record directive. The use of systematic and co-ordinated checks at external borders is important and a commitment will be looked for to take further Commission proposals on new directives for combatting terrorism and on the illegal firearms trade. There are also fresh proposals to increase the effectiveness of the fight against terrorist financing. The European response has to come in an international context and we support the proposed stepping up of engagement with partner countries and regional organisations in the Middle East and elsewhere. The EU needs to do more outreach in the region and we also need to improve our strategic messaging, in particular to promote our values.

As agreed at the October European Council, the December European Council will return to the five presidents' report, Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union, which was produced on 22 June.

The five presidents' report is an important contribution to the debate about the future of the single currency area. It sets out the authors' vision for a deep, fair and genuine EMU to be achieved by 2025 in two stages, with the first stage focused on boosting competitiveness, maintaining responsible fiscal policies and completing banking union and the second stage, beginning in 2017, involving more significant changes to the EU's economic and institutional architecture. Ireland's position in this regard remains clear. We need to keep a firm focus on full and effective implementation of the wide range of reforms already agreed in recent years. This means continuing to improve our collective engagement with the European Semester process of economic policy co-ordination and, of course, pressing ahead on banking union. In this context, the proposals presented by the Commission on 24 November for a European deposit insurance scheme are welcome. These were the subject of initial exchanges among Finance Ministers last week. A further positive development on banking union is confirmation that the Single Resolution Mechanism will enter into force on 1 January 2016. This comes after a sufficient number of member states, including Ireland, ratified an intergovernmental agreement on the transfer and mutualisation of contributions, to be built up to approximately €55 billion over eight years.

The Commission also presented its annual growth survey package on 26 November, setting out the key priorities for supporting growth and jobs under the 2016 European Semester. This retains the threefold emphasis established last year on investment, structural reforms and responsible public finances. We agree that these are the right priorities and that practical measures to further strengthen the economic outlook must remain at the top of the agenda. Although the Irish economy is recovering strongly, we need to see further improvement in the economic performance of the wider euro area and EU economies, particularly in terms of creating the right conditions for investment and job creation. There will, in due course, be a renewed debate on the longer-term future of the euro area but the first step must be to do what we have promised and what is possible under the extensive reforms of recent years.

The Commission presented its new Single Market strategy on 28 October entitled Upgrading the Single Market: More Opportunities for People and Business. This is a crucial initiative, including in the context of the current UK debate, and I expect a strong endorsement of it by the December European Council. While the Single Market works well for goods, there are still too many barriers to cross-border trade in services. At the same time, traditional boundaries between goods and services have also become less relevant. For this reason we must ensure that we are adapting our Single Market rules to fast-changing 21st century realities.

Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Single European Act and renewed momentum in this regard will be a crucial driver of jobs, growth and competitiveness. This includes unlocking the full potential of the digital single market along the lines advocated in my letter to President Tusk, in respect of which I was joined by seven other Heads of State and Government, before the June European Council. We will need to study carefully the individual single market and digital single market proposals as they are produced but in broad terms, we see the key issue here as pressing ahead with a high level of ambition, agreeing concrete timelines and delivering results, with the European Council continuing to take an overview of progress. The December Council meeting will also take stock of progress under capital markets union, following presentation of the Commission's action plan on 30 September. Ireland remains a strong supporter of this initiative, particularly in terms of making financial markets work better for the SME sector.

The issue of Russia and Ukraine, though not on the agenda, might be raised in the context of the scheduled review of EU sanctions. We have always linked the sanctions to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and we would, therefore, support the sanctions being rolled over - as is likely - for a further six months. The European Council will, therefore, address a number of issues of central importance. I expect that in keeping with the urgency and complexity of the situation migration will once again be a very significant part of the discussions. However, the debate around the UK reform proposals, as well as the fight against terrorism, Economic and Monetary Union, the Single Market, energy and climate policy, will also be of considerable interest.

I look forward to hearing Deputies' statements.

Deputy Micheál Martin

Given the ongoing manoeuvrings of Fine Gael and the Labour Party in regard to the election date, it is not yet clear that this is the final discussion on Europe by this Dáil. No doubt, this will once again be played out in a string of anonymous media briefings where leaders will retain the right to publicly deny what they have been saying privately. I hope we will be in a position to discuss the outcome of this summit, which is an extremely important one concerning the future direction of Europe. It will mark an important time in the context of whether Europe decides to stand by its fundamental values or it allows the agenda to be set by extremists.

The summit to be held in February, which might coincide with the holding of our general election, is due to formally decide on a fundamental issue for Ireland, namely, the terms on which Britain will hold its referendum on continued membership of the EU. The Taoiseach and his team will, of course, employ their usual spin and hyperbole and may even pretend that the Taoiseach is leading the negotiations or invent another story, such as the infamous and comprehensively debunked claim that he fought off an ambush in 2011. No doubt Chancellor Merkel will once again be asked to help Fine Gael's campaign. If there is one thing this country does not need, it is more of this nonsense.

For five years the Government has put spin first in everything. When it comes to vital European issues, it has adopted a consistent policy of sitting on the sidelines and waiting for things to turn up for which it might be able to claim credit. This is a time when issues that will shape the economic, social and democratic future of Ireland and the whole of Europe are being decided yet this Government ends its time in office having never produced a statement of its policies. In the context of every significant negotiation in the past five years, the Taoiseach has refused to state his policy in advance, claiming afterwards to have shaped what he always praises as wonderful conclusions. On banking union, ECB powers, debt relief, fiscal controls, migrant policy, Russian aggression, British renegotiation and many other issues, there is no example of this Government having set out clear policy objectives or undertaken any campaign to influence other member states. Instead, we have had the growing influence of domestic party political manoeuvring in policy. This is why, for example, the Taoiseach refuses to state internationally that Ireland's growth is based on the fundamental strengths of the economy developed by the people of this country over many decades. He has also refused, with one exception, when he went off script in Paris three years ago, to state that Ireland was treated unfairly and deserves justice in respect of debts accumulated due to failed and abandoned EU policies. The Taoiseach prefers to talk about his heroic ascent to office, missing the fact that he voted against the majority of measures he now claims credit for and that he waited almost a year before introducing a budget.

The Taoiseach

Joe Soap and Mary Soap.

Deputy Micheál Martin

Standing on the sidelines waiting to run on to the pitch to claim the victory has meant that Ireland has played, and continues to play, no significant role in shaping vital policies. In fact, the Government is so determined to avoid any debate that we constantly have to turn to Brussels to get basic information on Ireland's position.

Many of the vital foundations of the European Union are under threat. Equally, core policies have failed and need to be reformed. Progress is impossible so long as countries such as Ireland stand on the sidelines and refuse to even state their proposals. Europe's enemies on the right and left, as well as those in countries which want to undermine it, are willing to use any tactic and any argument to damage it. A gradualist, business-as-usual approach is not working and will not work in the future. Perhaps most fundamentally we have been clear about the values for which Europe must stand. Without setting this as a foundation which we will always defend, anything could happen.

At the core of co-operation between European states must always be an absolute commitment to democracy and the respect of human rights. Europe and its states are not, and never have been, perfect but this region has a right to point to over seven decades during which it has shown a commitment to democracy and human rights which far outstrips that shown in any other region in the world. Those who like to constantly attack Europe, particularly the extreme right and left, like nothing more than coming up with false comparisons and nonsense such as "How can you criticise when your record isn't perfect?". Europe must not allow the pressure of undoubted crises to move it away from its values. The strength of these values is most eloquently seen in the fact that so many people see it as a haven from conflict and repression. Chancellor Merkel has played a progressive and humane role in this crisis thus far. I hope her speech this weekend does not mark a significant change in her policies.

She is entirely wrong when she accepts the idea that multiculturalism is somehow a myth or threat.

One of the most important developments we have seen as a society is understanding the need to embrace cultural diversity. The positive parts of Europe's history have all been based on the mixing of cultures to develop new ones. The idea of fixed historical cultures has no basis in reality and has caused immense destruction in the past. Our response to the current pressures exerted by migration will play a major part in defining whether we are true to our values or if we will allow the extremes to distort them.

It is clear that there is not unlimited capacity to provide for any person who wants to come to Europe. However, we have an undoubted duty to provide humanitarian refuge. Whether one bases it on Christian or other religious beliefs or on a humanistic approach, this is the litmus test. The grotesque campaigns seen in France, Hungary and other countries to scapegoat people from minority or new groups must be resisted in every way possible. They cannot be resisted by adopting their logic. We should note the courageous and successful effort of Prime Minister Valls to stop the Front National from winning in any region last weekend. Both he and President Hollande put principles ahead of party in a way that, unfortunately, others did not.

At the summit tomorrow political decisions will be taken on establishing a border force. This issue has little direct impact on Ireland owing to our non-membership of the Schengen area. The Schengen project is one which its members value, but they equally have collective responsibilities relating to borders. It is difficult to see how a force of 1,500 guards which may move from place to place will address any significant problem. The true focus should remain on addressing the reasons people are fleeing their homes in the first place. If we stand by while families are forced to live in refugee camps with few facilities and no future, of course, they will continue to flee. Our first and absolute priority must be to help people to return quickly to their homes and provide them with support before they feel the need to undertake a perilous journey in search of basic prospects for the future. If the new proposal goes ahead, it will shift the funding balance from humanitarian aid to enforcement. This is something we should not support. Ireland should argue for an increase in humanitarian aid without any diversion from other important programmes and with the border proposal being financed by new and additional means. Equally, we should not drop basic requirements for Turkey in order to win its assistance on this issue.

Since he assumed the Presidency of the Council, Donald Tusk has adopted a very important departure in organising summits. His private and public communications with leaders are defined by a new openness and honesty about difficulties. I welcome his decision to be open about the difficulties being faced in the negotiations with the British Government. His pre-Council letter shows that progress has been marginal and, on the tricky issues, Britain continues to make demands which should be unacceptable. The proposal to ban welfare supports for EU migrants for four years is tabloid-pandering of the worst type. It answers a problem which they have yet to demonstrate is encountered. It also has direct threats for Ireland. It is impossible to see how we could continue to support current policies with each country being open in terms of welfare payments to our citizens, while being denied to citizens of all other countries. Leaving aside the wider point of the regular movement of workers back and forth across the Irish Sea, across the Border it would have potentially enormous implications. I hope this is something the Taoiseach has reviewed because it is not a point he has yet publicly acknowledged.

Prime Minister Cameron's demand for a veto on eurozone-specific policies is also a huge concern, one about which we need to hear more in terms of specifics. On the face of it, a demand to veto co-operation between other member states is extraordinary. The bigger issue is that many of the reforms required to make the eurozone more effective could be stopped and we would end up with the worst of all worlds.

There is to be a brief discussion on Economic and Monetary Union on the agenda. Reconciling the contradictions between this discussion and the demands of the British Government is something which must be done but which is not acknowledged in the Taoiseach's public statements.

No doubt when we reach February, the Taoiseach's staff will roll out a PR campaign to claim that he is driving negotiations and having important discussions with the leaders of the largest countries. There is no reason to believe a five-year policy of spin leading everything will disappear between now and February. As a country, we cannot afford an approach whereby we which simply stand by and accept whatever emerges. We have a national interest in seeing Britain remain in the European Union. We also have a national interest in reforming the European Union to make it work better. We need a Union which shows ambition and urgency in tackling rising problems, not one which has been emasculated and retreats towards simply being a single market. It will be a gross disservice to the Irish people if we do not have more openness and engagement on this issue.

The summit is due to discuss the extension of sanctions against Russia. The lifting of the sanctions has been predicated on full implementation of the Minsk Accords, which has not happened. Russia continues to have troops on sovereign Ukrainian territory. It continues to deny Ukraine the right to control its own borders. It has also begun to escalate the economic intimidation of Ukraine. The unilateral cancellation of gas agreements is a serious indication of more to come. It seems obvious that Russia's intervention to save the Assad regime and its aggressive stance on Syria are designed in part to force others to ignore Ukraine. Nicholas Sarkozy's visit to Moscow two weeks ago and his statement that we should forget about sanctions against Russia were shameful, as are the efforts of others to sacrifice Ukraine in the interests of commercial and political expediency. The invasion, partition and undermining of a neighbouring state is a practice which can never be rewarded. I hope the Government will stand with Ukraine and insist on these sanctions being maintained. Anything else would be shameful.

The summit is due to discuss the related issue of energy union. With the breakthrough in the climate negotiations, we need an energy union which is ambitious enough to ensure Europe will meet and exceeds its emissions goals. This cannot happen if we allow countries to act unilaterally and create infrastructure which undermines solidarity and leaves Europe open to blackmail by increasingly authoritarian countries.

Deputy Gerry Adams

Climate change is one of the defining challenges facing society today. The role of the European Council and EU leaders will be pivotal in making the Paris agreement work. I urge the Taoiseach to ensure it is properly discussed. It is particularly important in the light of the impact of climate change in recent weeks on our own place. We have had significant flooding, serious disruption of communities and hardship for families. It is not just about flooding. It also concerns coastal erosion, salt water getting into the water cycle, hurricanes, cyclones and storms of greater ferocity and increased frequency than ever witnessed before. It is welcome that an agreement was achieved in Paris. This is a good step forward, but it falls far short of what is needed to protect the globe and humanity from the growing environmental crisis created by climate change.

The new agreement is to limit global warming to a rise of less than 2° Celsius with the hope it could be kept to 1.5° Celsius. However, it needs to be more than hope. For the State, it means coming up with a credible plan to cut emissions. Under the European Commission's energy and climate package from 2008, the State is required to deliver a 20% reduction in non-emissions trading sector greenhouse gases emissions by 2020. This is not an ambitious target, but it is crucially important. The European Environment Agency has reported that while the European Union is expected to exceed its 2020 reduction targets, the State will not. We will be lucky to achieve half of the target which must be a matter of grave concern for the Taoiseach and the Government. The Environmental Protection Agency is reported this morning as stating it has real concerns about the ability of the State to meet its EU commitments for 2020.

Sinn Féin supports a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The conclusion of the Paris conference and the agreement reached mean that a much wider public and political debate on climate change and the necessary measures to tackle it is needed.

This should be discussed at the European Council and the Commission but it would also be a very good start if we had such a debate here.

I note that Britain's in-out referendum is on the agenda. Sinn Féin firmly believes that a British withdrawal from the EU would represent a political and economic setback for Ireland and would hinder the process of democratic transformation in the North. A Brexit has raised the real prospect of a reinforced partition with a potential for customs checkpoints, trading tariffs and adverse knock-on effects for the all-island economy. Apart from these negative economic, social and political implications, the proposed referendum is profoundly undemocratic. The referendum as planned will allow the views of English voters to dictate the future relationship of the North - and therefore the island as a whole - with the EU. David Cameron is seeking an end to what he has described as the "ever closer union" and wants a guarantee that Britain will not lose out economically because it refuses to join the single currency. He also wants action to curb migration, including making it significantly harder for workers from the rest of the EU to claim benefits if they are living and working in Britain for less than four years. Two new opinion polls published yesterday suggest that support is growing within Britain to exit the EU. The Daily Telegraph ICM survey shows that half of British voters support a Brexit. In The Express, another poll reports that 42% want to leave the EU compared to 40% who will vote to stay in. If one adds in undecided voters, 51% currently back a Brexit. The British public and political momentum at this time appears to be behind leaving the EU, although this can change. There has also been speculation that the referendum could take place earlier than expected. What plans does the Government have to minimise economic disruption in the event that a referendum in Britain results in an exit from the EU?

A significant portion of tomorrow's Council meeting will be devoted to a discussion of anti-terrorism measures as well as steps to deal with the refugee crisis. I join with the Taoiseach in commending the crew of the LE Samuel Beckett who return home for Christmas shortly. I presume that if our humanitarian search and rescue mission is required in the future, the crews and three vessels involved will not be found wanting. Mar a dúirt an Taoiseach, táimid an-bhródúil astu. Táimid fíorbhuíoch do na fir agus na mná sin.

Yesterday it was announced that new border checks will be introduced for people arriving at the EU's external borders. It is also planned to establish an EU coastguard to patrol EU waters as part of an effort to reduce the number of migrants and refugees. We have yet to hear the detail of the Government's approach to these plans. The Commission has unveiled plans for a new European border guard to replace the existing border agency, Frontex. While this State is not obliged to participate in this new agency, we have participated in Frontex operations previously. A Commission official said that this State is expected to take part and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, said on Monday that he expected the Government to play its part. We need to be told what this means. The issues involved are critical and deserve urgent attention but they represent the symptoms of the problem. We must urgently encourage a peace settlement. That is the only way to tackle the causes of the problems and to build a lasting peace in the region.

Yesterday the trial of Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa in Egypt was postponed yet again. His trial has been postponed nine times to date. Last Sunday Ibrahim marked his 20th birthday in prison, his third birthday in jail without trial. My party colleague, Lynn Boylan, MEP, has tabled a motion in the European Parliament calling on the Egyptian authorities to release him immediately. That motion will be debated tomorrow, which I very much welcome. A new trial date has been set for 19 December. I urge the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to raise Ibrahim's case with their EU counterparts and to ensure that maximum pressure is placed on the Egyptian Government to ensure that this Irish and EU citizen is released and allowed to return home to Dublin.

The Government has failed to make a positive contribution to the efforts for peace in the Middle East by its stubborn refusal to recognise the Palestinian state and to join other EU governments which have accorded the people of Palestine this basic entitlement. I again urge the Taoiseach to act on the Oireachtas motion on this issue.

Deputy Seán Crowe

I echo the words of Teachta Adams and call on the Taoiseach to raise the case of Ibrahim Halawa, a constituent of mine, at the meeting. Yesterday the European Commission announced plans to launch its own European border and coast guard system. The plans envisage a reserve pool of 1,500 border guards who can be deployed on the EU's external borders without the consent of the host state, if needs be, which is unprecedented. Disturbingly, the plans suggest that dissenting EU states may end up in court or face as yet undefined sanctions if they refuse to let the European Commission dispatch guards to their national borders. This is an extremely worrying development which strips member states of their sovereignty. I ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline his views on this matter. I understand that this secondary legislation requires a positive opinion based on a qualified majority from a committee composed of experts from the 28 EU states. I ask the Taoiseach to confirm that Ireland will vote against this unprecedented legislation which is incompatible with national sovereignty.

The aforementioned plan is yet another knee-jerk reaction from the EU to the biggest refugee crisis that Europe has faced since the Second World War. A two-year relocation scheme to dispatch 160,000 arrivals in Greece and Italy to other member states has also stalled. Only 64 asylum seekers have been officially relocated from Greece and 144 from Italy so far this year. That is an appalling statistic in the context of the thousands of people landing in Greece and Italy every week. The EU is trying to create a fortress Europe and is attempting to pull down the shutters and pretend that it can wish away this crisis. It is this naive policy which encourages dangerous sea journeys across the Mediterranean. Official estimates put the number of migrants and asylum seekers who died in the Mediterranean this year at 3,671.

The EU is attempting to use Turkey as Europe's gatekeeper and is ignoring serious human rights violations. Today Amnesty International condemned the Turkish authorities for detaining scores of refugees, including from Iraq and Syria, since September and abusing and pressuring them to return home, in clear breach of international law. The EU is setting aside any concerns about the growing authoritarianism of Turkey's Government and has promised €3 billion in aid for refugees, along with a package of political goodies. It is also ignoring the fact that Turkey, in its haste to see President Bashar al-Assad toppled, is letting Jihadist fighters cross its border, some of whom have gone on to join Daesh, or ISIS. The Turkish authorities unlawfully arrested two journalists from an opposition newspaper that reported on this story and charged them with espionage. The Turkish authorities are also attacking Kurdish militants who have been fighting Daesh and have been involved in serious human rights violations in Kurdish majority areas in Turkey. This includes the reported summary execution of two Kurdish protesters by the Turkish authorities on Monday last. Does the Taoiseach have any concerns about the EU's deal with Turkey? Will he raise the serious human rights violations by the Turkish Government with his European counterparts at the Council meeting?

Turkey has also invaded Iraq. While its personnel are supposedly there to train the Iraqi army, the Baghdad Government is denying this and has asked them to leave Iraq.

It is welcome that the European Court of Justice has ordered that a 2012 trade pact between the European Union and Morocco be annulled because Western Sahara which has been illegally occupied by Morocco, is included in the deal. The court reported that the European Union had not carried out its duty to ensure it considered all aspects of the deal, including its impact on the fundamental rights of the people of Western Sahara and who controlled the region's natural resources. This is an issue that Sinn Féin raised when we called on the Government to reject the deal during its discussion in the House. I congratulate the Polisario Front which took this successful case. However, I am extremely concerned that Federica Mogherini has said the European Union has agreed to challenge the decision of the European Court of Justice. Does the Taoiseach agree with the decision to appeal and what is the Irish position on it? Neither Morocco nor the European Union has the right to exploit the natural resources of Western Sahara. Does the Taoiseach agree that if the European Union wants to discuss the natural resources of Western Sahara, it needs, first, to consult the people of the territory, not Morocco, the occupying power?

The conflict in Ukraine will also be discussed. It is nearly two years since the crisis began and the conflict in the east goes on, even though the firing of artillery is sporadic and restricted to specific parts of the front line. Nine thousand is the conservative estimate of how many have been killed. I, again, call on all sides to stop escalating the conflict and implement all parts of the Minsk peace agreement. I am sure there is full support in the House on the issue.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Bernard J. Durkan)

Deputies Mick Wallace, Richard Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy are sharing time.

Deputy Mick Wallace

According to the European Council's website, among the subjects to be discussed in Brussels will be the exchange of information on terrorism financing, controls at external borders, the conditions that lead to terrorism, the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism, and counter-terrorism co-operation with third countries. It will be interesting to see what comes of the discussion. All of these headings conjure up situations and truths in my mind, but I am sure the interpretations and proposals that will be exchanged in Brussels will have very tenuous ties to reality. I say this because the Government has repeatedly failed to look at the situation in the Middle East with much clarity or objectivity. It refused to recognise that Ireland, by allowing Shannon Airport to be used as a forward air base for the American military, was complicit in the devastation and destruction caused in the region and has played a serious part in the rise of ISIS, the deaths of close to 2 million civilians and the displacement of millions more. If the Government refuses to recognise the obvious truth, how can it possibly contribute anything meaningful to the discussion?

When the European Council talks about the conditions that lead to terrorism, is it going to acknowledge that every act of war by the West and its allies and every new supporter of the US-led bombing campaign against ISIS only confirms Islamic State's message that Muslims are under attack by the West and plays into its hands? When the Council talks about counter-terrorism co-operation with third countries, is it going to address the problem with Turkey? President Erdoan vowed to punish the editor of a newspaper that had published video footage which it was said showed the Turkish state intelligence agency helping to send weapons to Syria. This would lead one to think Turkey was turning a blind eye to the smuggling of arms into Syria for Islamic State. We already know that Turkey has facilitated ISIS in selling oil on world markets.

It is well known that any chance of ISIS being beaten in the region will be through local forces and the ones who are most effective are the Kurds, yet these are the people Turkey is bombing the living daylights out of every chance it gets. It is going to be difficult to have a coherent policy if the European Union is going to continue to entertain Turkey's role and tolerate what it is up to because it is a serious problem for the entire region. People are very reluctant to call it as it is. It was not insignificant that Turkey took down a Russian warplane that happened to be attacking ISIS positions.

We have been harping on for a long time about the fruitlessness of violence and bombing. I find it difficult to listen to people here talk about refugees while continuing to support US foreign policy, continuing to allow Shannon Airport to be used as a US military base and continuing to refuse to search aeroplanes. International law is being breached on a regular basis, but we ignore it. When Fine Gael and the Labour Party were in opposition, they had concerns about this, but they dropped them when they got into power. Surely, this leads to serious disillusionment about how politics works.

The idea that this is still a neutral country is nonsense. I do not agree with what Russia did in Ukraine and, as Deputy Micheál Martin stated, no one should get away with it. However, are we going to turn a blind eye to the fact that the Americans have killed close to 2 million civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan? They invaded these countries and had the support of the Government in doing so. In 2014 in how many countries did the United States engage in military operations? The answer is 130. There are fewer than 200 countries in the world, yet it carried out military exercises in 130 of them. The world has gone mad. Ireland has abandoned its neutral position. We should be working for peace and saying "No" to war.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Much of the agenda of the European Council was dominated by the response to the events in Paris, the so-called war on terrorism and the prevention of radicalisation. The very first thing the Taoiseach should say within the European Council is that all of the problems in Syria and the refugee crisis, much of which stems from what is happening in Syria, will be made worse by the actions of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and other powers that are bombing in Syria. Is it not obvious that that is the case? More innocent people will be killed in the bombings. How can this be a legitimate response to the horrors in Paris? It will increase the flow of refugees from Syria and be the best possible recruiter for Daesh that one could imagine and increase support for it. In addition, it will not work, as we know because the United States has carried out over 2,000 bombing runs in the past year and in that time Daesh has substantially expanded its territory. In direct proportion to the intensification of bombing supposedly against Daesh, it has expanded its territory and recruited more people. The bombing will prolong the war, strengthen Daesh by increasing the number of recruits and strengthen President Assad and encourage more support from Russia for him, the net result of which will be a continuation and an extension of the war.

Is the alternative not to stand up and say, "Do not bomb; do not make the situation worse," and instead demand that we stop arming and treating as normal states such as Saudi Arabia which is funnelling support and weapons to the most extreme jihadist groups?

We should take action against Israel, which again last night killed 14 innocent Palestinians in raids on refugee camps. The plight and persecution of these people is one of the main recruiting sergeants for jihadist groups across the region.

Should we not start to speak out about what the el-Sisi regime is not just doing to Ibrahim Halawa but to thousands of its citizens? I read today that the el-Sisi regime has destroyed 3,000 homes around Rafah, on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border, in the so-called war on terrorism. However, we continue to do business with regimes like this, beef deals and so on. The West sells them arms and provides military aid. Why do we not speak out on behalf of the PKK, which is one of the forces that is conducting effective resistance to Daesh and Assad and pointing to the repressive and hypocritical nature of the Turkish regime and which is still, wrongly, on a terrorist list? Why are we not speaking out publicly saying the PKK should be taken off the terrorist list, because if there is any hope in the disaster that is Syria, it will come from the ordinary people on the ground who oppose Assad and Daesh? The PKK and the Kurdish forces resisting both of those forces have shown the capacity to resist them in a progressive manner.

In all of this, we maintain a deathly silence, while we continue to collaborate with the US war machine and with all the war mongering at Shannon involving US troops, armaments and so on. When we look at the disaster of Syria and the refugee crisis it has caused and when we look at the destruction of Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan, should we not say that we are going to restore our shredded neutrality, that we are not going to participate in this and that we are going to take a stand on the international stage against this madness?

Deputy Paul Murphy

The proposal yesterday from the European Commission regarding European border guards, which will be discussed at the European Council, is most serious. It represents an attempt to build even higher the walls of fortress Europe and to further militarise those walls. It places metaphorical and real barbed wire on them, provides for tower guards and for drones flying across the Mediterranean. In doing that, it eliminates the democratic rights of countries to determine and observe their own borders in favour of a centralised European force.

The parallel with the ongoing drive for fiscal union is striking. It is all about the fact a crisis has appeared that offers opportunities for the 1% in Europe and its clinical project of the capitalist integration of the European Union. The fiscal union uses the euro crisis to say we must drive ahead with this project, eliminating the rights of national governments to write their own budgets, etc. The refugee crisis is now being used to build higher the walls of fortress Europe and to centralise European border controls in a central European border force. That is the proposal from the Commission, but I am sure it will meet opposition at this stage, including at the European Council.

What we face is described in the Commission document as the establishment of a border guard of 1,500 people empowered to intervene rapidly within three days. It states:

[T]he Agency will in the first instance be empowered to recommend Member States launch joint operations or rapid border interventions.

Where deficiencies persist and national action is not forthcoming, the Commission will be able to adopt an implementing decision determining the situation at a particular section ... requires urgent action and entrusting the Agency with the task of carrying out appropriate operational measures. This will allow the Agency to intervene immediately in crises situations by deploying European Border ... Teams.

This means the right of member states to have their own border guards and coast guards is being overridden by the establishment, or the proposed establishment, of this force.

A third element of this proposal, and anybody who has followed the history of European migration policy will know what it means, is that it provides for an enhanced role for the agency as regards co-operation with third countries. This is about the externalisation of European borders. It is about another deal, like the deal done with Gaddafi providing huge amounts of money in order to keep migrants from Africa away from Europe. It means the Commission is going to try to buy off new dictators across the north of Africa and the Middle East so they become European border guards. Effectively, they are going to outsource European border guards and externalise the European borders.

The consequence of this will be further abuses of the human rights of migrants. It means an extension of the kind of horrific scenes we are seeing in a number of countries in eastern Europe, with migrants treated horrifically as sub-human. It means an extension of that and effectively making it European policy. It means an increase of deaths in the Mediterranean. What is now called the cemetery of the Mediterranean will, unfortunately, see more drownings and we will see an increase of the figure of 30,000 of those who have died over the past 30 years trying to make their way to Europe if these measures to make European borders more effective are implemented. It also means an undermining of the democratic rights of states in favour of a centralisation of power in the European Union under the control of the European Commission. Europe must not go down the road of Donald Trump. The right of asylum must be defended. We must oppose racist immigration controls and must fight for a society in which people do not feel the need to travel all across to world to escape from war and poverty.

I will finish with a quote from The Guardian from playwright, Anders Lustgarten. He states:

In all the rage about migration, one thing is never discussed: what we do to cause it. ...

The single biggest thing we could do to stop migration is to abolish the development mafia: the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

A very close second is to stop bombing the Middle East. The West destroyed the infrastructure of Libya without any clue as to what would replace it. What has [been left] is a vacuum state run by warlords that is now the center of Mediterranean people-smuggling. We're right behind the Sisi regime in Egypt that is eradicating the Arab Spring, cracking down on Muslims and privatizing infrastructure at a rate of knots.

I would add to that the disastrous rate of climate change, which is also fuelling the mass movement of people offered no choice.

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Jimmy Deenihan)

I am pleased to conclude today's debate on the forthcoming meeting of the European Council. As the Taoiseach has mentioned, I will focus my remarks on energy union and climate change.

The European Council is expected to encourage swift delivery of the legislative package needed to advance the energy union project, as endorsed last month by the Union's energy Ministers, and to welcome the historic agreement on climate change reached in Paris last Saturday. I am delighted to welcome the new Paris agreement, which sets the framework for a truly global response to the enormous challenge of climate change and its impact. The European Council is expected to warmly welcome this achievement, particularly France's guiding role in presiding over COP21, to which I add my congratulations.

The Paris agreement, with 196 countries on board, is both ambitious and legally binding. It means that all countries are now in a position to take ambitious action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to build resilience. It sends a signal to all actors, the private sector, citizens and civil society that governments are serious about the challenge of global warming and about taking the steps necessary to combat it together. Collectively, we are now committed to keeping the rise in global temperature to well below 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to keeping the more stringent target of below 1.5° in sight. The agreement strengthens the financial and technical supports necessary for the most vulnerable countries and, critically and crucially, through its transparency mechanism, ensures that each country can have confidence in the progress of others.

Ireland's team played a key part within the Union's effective negotiating efforts in Paris.

Next year, within the European Union, we will turn to how each of the 28 member states will contribute to achieving the EU's collective obligation as set out in the EU climate and energy targets for the year 2030. Ireland has been clear and consistent in wanting a fair and achievable target that does not place a disproportionate burden on any one country but allows everyone to play a part.

How energy is sourced, produced, supplied and used is an important part of reaching our global and EU ambitions. This week's European Council is expected to encourage swift implementation of the Commission's energy strategy, as set out in the energy union package. The goal of this package is achieving an energy-resilient Union with a forward-looking climate policy. The strategy seeks to ensure secure, affordable and climate-friendly energy for citizens and businesses, allowing a free flow of energy across borders, with a secure supply in every EU state. To achieve this, the energy union encompasses a wide range of policy areas, including climate, transport, industry, research, the digital economy and agriculture.

Ireland strongly supports the energy union. As a relatively peripheral member state, it is critical for us to diversify the routes and sources of our energy, putting in place appropriate supporting infrastructure. Regional co-operation will assist us in achieving EU-wide market integration and will further contribute to unlocking the full potential of renewables. Under the energy union legislative framework, member states will be required to produce national climate and energy plans by 2019. By definition, these plans will be closely linked with work on achieving the EU's targets for 2030 under the climate and energy framework. In Ireland's case, the recently passed Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill has set work under way on the development of a national mitigation plan and a national adaptation plan. The launch of our new White Paper on energy sets the framework for Ireland's transition to a low-carbon economy and society by 2050, aligning fully with the principles set out in the energy union strategy.

This concludes my statement on the meeting of Heads of State and Government meeting that will begin tomorrow in Brussels.

Sitting suspended at 2.15 p.m. and resumed at 3.15 p.m.