merrion street

Minister Murphy today attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels where Europe ministers discussed the draft agenda for the forthcoming European Council meeting in December, which is expected to focus on the issues of migration, Economic and Monetary Union, the single market, the United Kingdom and the EU, and the situation in Ukraine. 

Ministers debated the Rule of Law in the European Union, with particular reference to the digital era, while a draft agreement between the European institutions on Better Regulation, the Commission's Work Programme for the coming year, and the European Semester cycle of economic policy coordination for 2016, also featured on the agenda. 

Speaking after the meeting, Minister Murphy said:  
"At today's General Affairs Council Ministers expressed their strong solidarity with France and the French people following the horrific terrorist attacks that took place in Paris on Friday. I expressed my sincere condolences to my French counterpart Harlem Désir, Secretary of State for European Affairs, on what was an attack on our common European values and democratic freedoms." 

"Ministers held preparatory discussions in advance of the December summit of EU leaders, where migration is expected to remain the priority issue. While much work remains to be done in terms of Europe's ongoing response to this challenge, I think it is important to highlight that, collectively, we have come a long way in terms of forging a coordinated European response on migration."

"A significant portion of today's meeting was devoted to an exchange of views on the Rule of Law in the EU, with particular reference to the challenges of the digital age. This is an area where we can often see the emergence of tensions, for example between the right to privacy on the one hand and the right to freedom of expression on the other, necessitating a delicate balance." 

Commenting on the publication by the European Commission today of its opinion on euro area national budgets, Minister Murphy said:
 
"I welcome today's assessment by the European Commission that Ireland's Budget 2016 complies with EU rules, and that we remain on-track in terms of commitments to further reduce the deficit and exit the Excessive Deficit Procedure in 2016."