Address by the Taoiseach to the EU Heads of Mission Meeting Dublin, 10 December 2007

Thank you very much for the invitation to address you today.

Introduction

A lot has happened since we met in a similar format last year. 2007 has been an eventful one and a good one for the Union. Next year will be even more interesting. But I will return to that later.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge again the excellent work of the German and Portuguese Presidencies in guiding us out of the period of reflection, to the point where we have agreement on the text of the Reform Treaty.

December’s European Council

Let me commence, though, by sharing a few comments in relation to this week’s Council. It will be a short meeting lasting only one day, and I am optimistic that agreement on the various topics can be reached without too much difficulty. I will mention a number of issues which I thought would be of particular interest to you.

Reflection Group

Firstly, the Reflection Group: I am pleased that the name has changed. Although we understood the sentiment behind the original ‘Committee of the Wise’ label, there was some risk that it would be misunderstood as a group of people perhaps semi-detached from the lives of ordinary Europeans. It wasn’t helped, too, that, at least in the English language, it was being portrayed as a group only of wise men, though I accept that this was never the intention.

I welcomed President Sarkozy’s initiative earlier this year because it is, indeed, necessary from time to time to stand back from the day-to-day affairs of the Union, to take a longer-term perspective on our future together. Such thinking can help to start the wheels of change turning earlier. For example, on climate change, it might have been helpful if we had focused on the issue within the Union some years earlier. No doubt there are other challenges and opportunities which the Union will face in the future. The Reflection Group can play a valuable role in identifying and examining these issues.

The reflection group will deal with issues relating to some 15 to 20 years ahead, and we are happy that the draft mandate reflects that. From an Irish point of view, a key concern is that the public should not misunderstand the purpose of the group. In particular, it is important that the mandate makes clear that the Reflection Group is not intended to revisit institutional issues. These have been addressed in the Reform Treaty and we do not envisage them being reopened in the coming years.

I’m sure we will reach agreement on setting up the group on Friday. We have yet to hear how Prime Minister Socrates envisages managing the issue: will he limit his pursuit to the agreement of the mandate and appointment of a chair, or will he try to go further? I suspect that the equally challenging task of filling out the group will fall to the Slovenian Presidency next year. Given the nature of the group, it is certainly worth taking the time necessary to agree on its composition in a manner that is acceptable to all.

Kosovo

A key issue which the Council is to consider is Kosovo. The regrettable failure of the Troika-led talks leaves all of us in the international community facing difficult choices and a period of uncertainty. While the issue will revert, for now, to the UN, in the Union we will have to prepare ourselves to make decisions which deal with the evolving reality on the ground. We must preserve the stability which is essential to the future of Kosovo and the Balkan region as a whole. Kosovo is first and foremost a European issue. At the European Council, I am confident that we will agree on the need for a united approach, and to send a clear message expressing the Union’s readiness to play a major role on the ground in Kosovo in the potentially difficult period ahead.

It is the Government’s wish that Ireland should play its full part in Europe’s joint efforts to meet the challenges ahead. While we will face a more complex and uncertain political and legal environment in the event that there is no agreement on final status, we very much hope to be in a position to maintain our presence in KFOR. We are hopeful too of being able to contribute members of the Garda to a European Security and Defence Policy Mission and also to support the future economic development of Kosovo.

Globalisation Declaration

Finally in relation to Friday’s Council, I would say that we are broadly comfortable with the globalisation declaration. Whatever words are used, I want only to stress Ireland’s view that for Europe to deliver for its people, we must have a Europe that is open and engages with the world in order to increase trade, cooperation and development. That is, to some degree, what the Reform Treaty is all about.

Reform Treaty / Referendum

Turning to the Treaty, I will not take up your time by listing all of its benefits. I am sure you are more than adequately briefed already.

I will travel to Lisbon on Thursday morning to sign the Treaty before travelling on to Brussels. We have to concede that from a climate change perspective, the arrangement hardly sends out the right message: this is something that, as leaders, we have to consider more fully in the future.

Thursday’s signature of the Reform Treaty in Lisbon is a hugely significant step for the Union and how it does its business.

Here in Ireland, the Attorney General has now confirmed that a referendum is required by our Constitution. With the intention that the Treaty be ratified in time for it to enter into force on 1 January 2009, that referendum must take place some time during 2008.

The date has not yet been decided. A number of factors have to be weighed up, including the Government’s commitment also to hold a referendum on children’s rights. So far, no decision has been taken in relation to whether we will hold both at the same time. That has some attractions, but also presents us with timetabling issues: it could take some time before this issue becomes clear.

The Government is absolutely committed to a full public debate. Already, I note a clear mood within the Oireachtas to engage and to involve the public to the maximum degree possible. I welcome that. There is wide cross-party support for the Treaty. We will endeavour to put aside the customary adversarial approach to politics to try and achieve a cross-party approach to the referendum. In this regard, we have already invited the opposition parties to meet with us to advance this work.

It is essential that civil society also engage in the debate, as was the case with Nice II. As you know, the National Forum On Europe will play a leading role. The Forum is a body of which we can be proud. It has helped keep European issues in both the public and political minds over the last number of years, in a way that has catered for the spectrum of different viewpoints on our relationship with, and participation in, the European Union. I know you will be reporting extensively on the referendum campaign, and I urge you to attend the Forum’s meetings, both in Dublin and around the country.

On the substance of the Treaty, I would like to leave you in no doubt of our conviction that Europe needs this Treaty in order to move on to addressing the global environment and tackling real issues for the citizens.

As with all international agreements, it represents a compromise. I won’t repeat our regrets in relation to the fate of the Constitutional Treaty, except to say that the format of the Reform Treaty does not make its explanation to the public particularly easy.

We know that the implications of the Irish debate will reach far beyond our own borders, yet it must be an Irish debate. Many will visit us from abroad to try and shape the outcome. For some, particularly those opposed to the European Union, it will be a proxy for a national debate that they would wish to have in their own country. This is not especially helpful to us here, but nonetheless may be the reality.

While the referendum will be on ratification of the Treaty, we can nonetheless expect people’s attitude to Europe more generally to be a major influence on how they vote.

In addition to explaining the Reform Treaty, we are determined to present the arguments about Europe to the public in the medium to long term context. Our membership of the Union has paid rich dividends over more than thirty years and our strategic interest is in an effective Europe. Europe is good for Ireland. Equally important, I strongly believe that Ireland is good for Europe.

But let us also acknowledge that how the public perceives Europe when they walk into the ballot box will be influenced to some degree by how Europe is featuring in the news that day, that week.

Against that, one of the most striking things about the series of referendums we have had over the decades is how the negative arguments remain the same. This particularly applies to the argument that Europe somehow wants to evolve into a military superpower. To you, representatives of our partners, that concept may seem far removed from the real world. But however ill founded, it is a genuine fear for many in Ireland. And it highlights the need for us to better explain to our public what it is our Union is doing in seeking to spread peace and stability, for example in the western Balkans where the argument for Union support is irrefutable.

Another topic likely to get a good airing in the debate is the idea of a common consolidated corporation tax base, notwithstanding that it has nothing to do with the Reform Treaty. Discussion of this has kept very bright people in gainful employment for years. You know our position well so I won’t repeat it. But I do want to stress to you that it is more widely shared than some might think. Our experience is that when the impracticalities of what would be required are considered, more and more Member States have doubts about the wisdom of the idea.

Let me conclude on a positive note. I expect the public to vote in favour of the Reform Treaty because it is in the interest of Europe and of Ireland.

Europe is working. It is delivering on a daily basis for citizens, much of which we now all take for granted. We are asking the Union sometimes to do more, sometimes to do better. We must equip it with the tools to deliver what we ask of it.

There can be no escaping the modern reality of interdependence, a reality all the more stark for a relatively small and economically open State. Our Union is the most advanced model of the shared sovereignty required to meet new challenges and seize new opportunities. The need to adapt our changed Union to a changing world is what has given rise to the Reform Treaty, a Treaty which will lead to a more effective Union in Ireland’s, and in our partners’, interest.

Our challenge for this year is to work to ensure that the public agree with us.

That is what lies ahead. For now, as we approach the Christmas season, I would like to wish you and your families a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Ambassador Castilho, Ambassadors, thank you for your attention.

Ends

10^th Dec 2007