Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 July 2017
197. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which particular emphasis is placed on efforts within the European Union to address the issue of euroscepticism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33505/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe issue of euroscepticism is not new but in recent years it has become stronger and more vocal. That is why this year, in the Rome Declaration of 25 March, the leaders of the 27 Members States and of the EU Institutions pledged ‘to listen and respond to the concerns expressed by our citizens’ and committed to offering citizens ‘both security and new opportunities’. In this regard, a key priority for the Government is to ensure that the EU is delivering practical improvements to the lives of citizens through policies to promote jobs and growth and in addressing internal and external challenges such as migration and international terrorism.
The European Commission’s recent White Paper on the Future of Europe addresses the challenges that Europe is facing and presents five scenarios for how the Union could evolve by 2025. Its open and non-prescriptive approach is welcome and is in keeping with the need to renew the EU’s engagement with its citizens. My Department will support and foster dialogue and debate by civil society and the general public on the issues raised in the White Paper and the five Reflection Papers which have followed from it.
There is a now growing sense that the EU has come out of a period of crisis and is moving forward, despite Brexit. The election of President Macron, the setback suffered by populist parties in certain recent European elections and the return of economic growth have contributed towards this feeling. It is important that we carry forward this sense of optimism into the debate on the future of the EU and continue to work together to shape an EU which puts the citizen at the heart of the EU agenda.
