Ladies and gentlemen,
Before I turn to other issues, allow me to say a word about the appalling terror attacks that we witnessed in Paris on Friday.
These attacks are quite frankly, an abomination.
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims; we also think of those who are injured and we hope for their speedy recovery.
Ireland stands in strong and enduring solidarity with the French people.
Let me be very clear, the democratic way of life that we share will not bend in the face of terrorism.
Barbarity will not be allowed to triumph over civilisation.
It would be premature and unhelpful to speculate on the long-term implications of these acts of terror.
We had a preliminary discussion about the attacks at the General Affairs Council today. The degree of solidarity with the French people was very clear, as was the determination that our democratic way of life should not be change in the face of terrorism.
The next detailed discussions will take place among Justice Ministers when they meet in extraordinary session this Friday. My colleague, Minister Fitzgerald, will attend that meeting.
What the attacks in Paris, and previous attacks elsewhere, highlight is the fact that terrorism manifests itself in many forms, and that it does not respect international borders.
It is therefore essential that we continue to work together at EU level and in other international fora, to counter the threat.
That said, let me start by thanking the IIEA Brussels Branch for the kind invitation to address you here this evening.
I had the opportunity to meet with some of you on the way in, and with the Brussels Branch Chair for this year, Mr Brian Ward. I understand that Brian worked with my party colleague, Avril Doyle, when she was an MEP – which tells me that this young man has been working around the European institutions for a decade.
I know that likewise, many of you have long experience in Europe, so I am delighted to be invited to address a group as informed and engaged as yourselves on European issues.
The title of the Commission’s Work Programme for 2016 makes the point very clearly that this is “No Time for Business as Usual”. This year like last, we’re seeing the Commission continue its commitment to be “big on the big things” and to deliver concrete results.
So today, I’m going to talk about the big things. Big things of importance to Ireland and to the EU, and to all of us who choose to engage on Europe.
EU/UK
I don’t think I need to alert anyone in this room that a referendum will take place before the end of 2017 in which the British electorate will decide whether Britain will remain in, or leave the European Union.
Prime Minister Cameron’s letter to President Tusk, sent this day last week has given a welcome, renewed impetus to the debate on this critically important issue, and has allowed for a process of more in-depth discussions to begin.
Let me first emphasise the importance that the Irish Government attaches to this issue.
As stated many times before, including most recently by the Taoiseach in an address to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in London last week, UK membership of the European Union is hugely important to Ireland’s interests and to the interests of the EU as a whole.
Let’s look at this in relation to three broad areas: our economy, Northern Ireland, and our positioning within the EU.
Firstly, on the Economy. The UK is our largest trading partner – our bilateral trade in goods and services amounts to approximately €1 billion per week. An ESRI Report published on 4 November found that, of all EU Member States, other than the UK, Ireland would suffer the most negative consequences of a British withdrawal. This could be extremely disruptive to the Irish economy, even if the UK kept a preferential trade agreement with the EU.
Secondly, regarding Northern Ireland. The ESRI Report found that Northern Ireland could be the most adversely affected region of the UK. In addition to providing valuable financial assistance to the region, the EU has provided a supportive context for peace and reconciliation and progressing North-South cooperation. This should not be underestimated. Furthermore, a British departure could create uncertainties around the management of our shared land border, and could impact all areas of North/South co-operation and the economy in general.
Finally, concerning Irish positioning within the EU: We have many shared national interests with the UK, particularly in the competitiveness area, and our focus on jobs, growth and investment. A British departure from the Union could deprive us of valuable support in key areas such as trade and the internal market.
It is true of course, that the exact consequences of a UK exit from the European Union would depend on what arrangements were subsequently put in place between the UK and EU.
From the outset, the Irish position has been clear and consistent: we want the UK to remain in the EU, we want to be helpful where we can in the negotiations, and we will be bringing this constructive approach to the process in the weeks ahead. And let me be clear, there are a number of areas where we share British concerns and where we too see room for improvement in how the Union operates.
But our foremost concern here must be the effect a British departure would have on the EU itself. To get back to basics, the UK is the EU’s second largest economy, and is projected to become its most populous Member State by 2035. It has global influence, and is a “P5” member of the UN Security Council. It is a leader culturally and in so many aspects of life. For the Union to lose such a Member could not but have adverse effects on its ability and on its credibility.
Ultimately, of course, it will be for the British electorate to decide upon the future of the UK’s membership with the Union.
For a myriad of reasons I sincerely hope that they choose to remain within this Union of partners and friends, where we work together to achieve the best outcome for all our citizens.
Migration
The migration crisis remains the top issue for the EU and for many partners, including Ireland – even if geographically we are not in the front-line of the response.
Discussions are taking place across many Council formations, principally among Justice & Home Affairs Ministers but also at the level of Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers, Europe Ministers and Development Ministers.
At times, the discussions have been heated. But we’re all still coming back to the table. This reflects the complexity and scale of the challenges we face.
And to be honest with ourselves, this is a crisis that the Union and Member States were not equipped to deal with. We need to focus on the root causes and we should take encouragement from the fact that the Union has provided Member States with a mechanism to enable them to work together on an extremely complex and difficult issue and we are all trying to work together to identify and implement sustainable, long-term solutions.
In terms of the European response, there have been some advances in progressing agreed measures, for example in relation to listing countries of safe origin, and the first relocations from Greece and Italy to other EU Member States. However, big challenges remain in meeting commitments.
There has rightly been a particular focus on the role of Turkey which is key and this focus on EU-Turkey relations will continue in the period ahead. No-one has any illusions about how challenging it will be to step up cooperation. But the fact is, the EU and Turkey simply have to work together to address the crisis of migration. There is no possible solution which does not involve Turkey to a very significant degree.
In the meantime, we have to get through the day-to-day. We have all been saddened by the tragic human cost of the crisis. As a country, Ireland has stepped up, and as a Government, we have tried to be compassionate and practical in our approach.
We continue to respond across a number of fronts, balancing our focus on longer-term solutions with the need to tackle the immediate humanitarian challenges. The main elements of our response are:
Our voluntary opt-in to EU measures, where we have offered to take 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers between Relocation and Resettlement programmes. We are also providing six liaison officers to facilitate this work.
The assistance provided by the Irish naval vessels in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean where they have rescued over 8,000 individuals since 1 May.
And continued financial assistance to key organisations responding to the crisis, such as the World Food Programme where we have committed to double our core contributions to €20 million per annum for the next three years.
Investment Plan
Jobs and growth are central to Ireland’s and Europe’s economic recovery. The Irish people have made extraordinary sacrifices to enable us to return to growth and employment in Ireland. Our views are clear – we want to do what's best for growth and jobs – in Ireland and in Europe.
Complementary to our efforts at national level, President Juncker’s Investment Plan aims to mobilise €315 billion in net additional investments in the real economy over the next three years, consistent with Europe 2020 objectives. The Plan, agreed so quickly by Council, puts the right emphasis on investment as the EU’s key economic driver in dealing with unacceptably high levels of unemployment and supporting growth that is smart, sustainable, and inclusive.
With the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up, a key focus of the Investment Plan is getting in place quickly a pipeline of high quality projects that would otherwise be unlikely to proceed, while attracting private investors by reducing complexity and sharing risk. It will essentially be managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) as a new stream of higher-risk lending.
It is clear that the role of national promotional banks will be crucial in delivering on the Investment Plan. We continue to see potential for investment cooperation between the new EU Investment Plan and the ISIF (Ireland Strategic Investment Fund) and SBCI (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland), both established by the Government last year. These share the focus of the new EFSI on using public resources to mobilise a stronger pipeline of private sector investments in the real economy.
The Department of Health’s PPP project involving 14 primary care centres across Ireland, including Dublin, Kilcock, Wexford, Waterford, Limerick, Westport and Boyle, is one of the first projects to be supported by EFSI. An EFSI loan of €70 million will cover up to half of the total funding requirement.
Work towards identifying other specific areas of potential Irish cooperation will continue over the period ahead, building from the new Infrastructure and Capital Investment Plan 2016-2021. This includes potential deployment of concessionary finance in the areas of energy-efficiency, energy infrastructure, broadband roll-out, SME lending, and state body investments more generally.
It is clear that this Investment Plan cannot be a magic bullet for all of Europe’s economic problems. But it is also likely that it can make a significant contribution, combined with the right mix of structural, fiscal and monetary policies.
TTIP
The EU needs to maintain a high profile and robust external trade strategy to stay open and connected to the wider world.
The US is the EU’s most important trade partner. EU-US trade in goods and services is worth €2 billion daily, accounting for nearly 50% of global GDP. We see TTIP as key in maintaining EU-US leadership, including on international regulatory standards.
We also estimate that gains from TTIP, for Ireland, are likely to be of the order of 1.1% of GDP.
We have our own national concerns – and if I was to list them all none would come as a surprise to you – but, let’s be clear, we remain fully supportive of Commissioner Malmström’s efforts to conclude an ambitious and comprehensive agreement within the lifetime of the Obama Administration.
Digital Single Market
When it comes to delivering a vital boost to Europe’s future global competitiveness and making a real difference for investment, growth and jobs, there is no greater opportunity for us than the Digital Single Market.
The Digital Single Market is about bringing our Single Market rules into the 21st century, including in the copyright area.
There's no escaping the reality that new business models are needed across the digital media sector.
Europe has a clear opportunity to lead here. And if we don’t get it right the cost of failure will be high. We know that most new jobs will be created by fast-growing young firms. If we don't facilitate these new business models in Europe, our best entrepreneurs will leave, and take their ideas with them.
So we simply have to keep pace with the full extent of what is now possible for digital innovation and entrepreneurship.
If we do get it right, the Digital Single Market can become key to a stronger economic outlook for Europe. And a properly functioning Digital Single Market will benefit consumers just as much as the enterprises operating within it.
Data Protection
Turning to the other part of my own portfolio, Data Protection, for over three years now, we have been negotiating a vast legislative package aimed at replacing our existing data protection rules. This new Regulation will give greater protection to personal data throughout the EU. The Luxembourg Presidency is pushing to reach an overall agreement by the end of the year.
From the outset of the reform discussions, we have taken the view that the Regulation must provide a system which is responsive to the needs of both citizens and business. Only an efficient Regulation which provides legal certainty and avoids excessive administrative burdens on both will create the right environment to allow innovation, jobs and growth to flourish. And I am confident that the Regulation will deliver on these fronts.
It will establish rules adapted to the digital age of the 21st Century, introducing a single set of rules across the EU, and eliminate the current fragmentation resulting from the 1995 EU Directive.
It will enhance the level of personal data protection for individuals and increase business opportunities in the Digital Single Market. The Commission has estimated the savings for business to be approximately €2.3 billion a year.
And we have been supporters of a strong and effective One-Stop-Shop mechanism because it would simplify the lives of both citizens and businesses by ensuring that an individual would only have to interact with one data regulator for breaches occurring anywhere in the 28 Member States.
Last year, the Government approved a series of measures aimed at ensuring that our approach to data protection in the digital economy is ‘best in class’ globally. To get there, we needed first, to boost the capacity we have within our system to deal with data protection, and second, to harness expertise from outside Government to ensure that we stay fit for purpose into the future.
As Minister with responsibility for Data Protection, I am pleased to state that by the end of 2016 the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner will have increased its staffing levels by 100% and its budget by 150% on 2014 levels.
We have also established the Government Data Forum which brings together a range of stakeholders from industry, academia, civil society, as well as the public sector, which will enable us, as a country, to keep pace with and anticipate developments in the area.
COP 21
Of course, when we speak about economic growth and about trade, we also have to speak about sustainability and climate change.
The COP21 conference, beginning in Paris at the end of this month, will again bring together the 192 countries, this time to agree a commitment to pursue low-carbon, climate-resilient sustainable development. I think we can say, looking back at COP 15 in Copenhagen that Europe got out ahead of the field on climate change. And looking forward to Paris, we can see that the EU continues to strive to provide global leadership on this issue.
The EU, and Ireland within it, strongly supports an ambitious, legally-binding global agreement, and we are fully playing our part in achieving that outcome. The EU’s Climate and Energy Framework 2030 commits EU member states to collectively cut our own greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030, as well as to increase our use of renewable energy, and enhance energy efficiency. Within the principles of fairness and affordability, Ireland is committed to playing its part in delivering on these targets.
Conclusion
As I conclude, it would be remiss of me not to mention our EU Jobs campaign. This is our initiative to support Irish citizens interested in pursuing a career in the EU institutions.
As Irish citizens, we have much to celebrate in our long, proud history of service in the European and international public service. None more so than Catherine Day, who has departed the Commission after such a distinguished career, and received this week the European Movement of Ireland’s “European of the Year” award.
Historically, we have had a very strong presence of Irish people in the institutions. Through the EU Jobs campaign, we have made additional efforts in recent years to boost our representation and boost our profile. We are starting to see results in terms of raising public awareness, in expanding official secondments, and in establishing institutional relationships. But you don’t need me to tell you that this is hard work.
So the message I leave you with today is this. Whether you yourself are an Irish citizen or a friend of Ireland – whether you are an EU official or not – your presence here today tells me that you’re interested and engaged on the big issues that face Ireland and the EU today. You are part of our network as a country, part of our representation.
And, when we speak of the big things, and delivering concrete results, there is a part for us all to play.
Thank you.